I. 

TBR^RY                   1 

:   T  heo 

lo 

gi  cal 

Seminary, 

i 

PRINCETON 

.     N.    J. 

1 

Case      ■ 

Sh('[f 

Book 

Division        .  .._» ---- 

Section        .1... 

No..                \.... 

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\/'  ^ 


THE 


ArOCALYPSE   UNVEILED. 


THE  DAY  OP  JUDGMENT,  THE  RESURRECTION, 


AND 


THE    MILLENNIUM, 


Irtseuiei  in  a  ietofigll 


THE  REPO=;SESSIOX  OF  PALESTINE  l]i'  THE  JEWS  AND  THEIR 
CONVERSION  TO  CHRIST  AS  THEIR  MESSIAH. 


VOL.  II. 


NEW  YORK : 
E.   FRENCH,   12   BIBLE  HOUSE, 

ASTOR     PLACE. 

1853. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1853,  by 

E.  FRENC  H, 

ill  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of 
New  York. 


THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED, 


CHAPTEK  XIY. 

THE  SUCCESS  OF  THE  REFORMATION,  AND  ESTABLISHMENT    OF   THE 
PROTESTANT  RELIGION. 

The  thirteenth  chapter  has  just  given  us  a  rapid  sketch  of 
the  poUtical  history  of  Europe  under  the  form  of  the  beast 
with  seven  heads  and  ten  horns,  likewise  of  the  rise  of  another 
power  under  the  form  of  the  beast  with  iioo  horns,  whose 
manner  of  speaking  like  a  dragon  shows  that  it  was  also 
political ; — it  was,  in  fact,  the  politico-religious  power  of  the 
Romish  Church  existing  simultaneously  with  the  first  great 
beast,  and  acting  in  concert  with  it.  Of  this  harmony  in  the 
action  of  the  two  beasts  we  shall  see  more  in  a  future  chapter. 

Nothing  occurred  to  call  out  the  religious  character  of  the 
two  beasts,  and  to  exhibit  its  persecution  and  bigotry,  until 
the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century,  when  Lutlier  com- 
menced a  public  and  systematic  opposition  to  the  errors  and 
corruptions  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 

The  Reformation  was  met  at  its  first  appearance  by  the 
violence  and  bigotry  which  distinguished  the  heathen  opposi- 
tion to  the  infant  Church  of  Christ  in  Rome  ;  and  the  two 
beasts  of  the  thirteenth  chapter  set  themselves  to  put  it  down. 
But  the  struggle  which  this  purpose  produced  is  not  alluded 
to  in  that  chapter  for  the  reasons  stated,  that  tlie  chapter  is 
entirely  political  in  its  description.  But,  turning  to  the  thir- 
teenth chapter,  we  shall  find  the  contest  most  distinctly  re- 


6  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

ferred  to  ;  and  there  we  shall  see  the  woman,  representing 
the  gospel  church,  surrounded  by  enemies,  but  still  gaining 
ground,  being  nourished  and  fed  in  her  wilderness  state. 

But  the  prophet,  after  the  episode  of  the  thirteenth  chapter, 
in  which  he  treats  of  the  political  powers  of  Europe,  and 
shows  that  its  whole  religious  system  was  nothing  more  than 
a  government  of  7n.oral  tyranny,  returns  to  acquaint  us,  as  he 
does  in  the  fourteenth  chapter,  with  the  result  of  the  contest 
between  this  tyranny  and  the  Reformation.  This  result  is 
seen  in  the  first  five  verses  of  the  chapter,  and  it  is  remarkable 
what  an  affinity  there  is  between  the  language  of  the  royal 
prophet  of  Judah*  and  the  prophet  of  the  Christian  Church. 
Did  they  both  refer  to  the  same  event  ?     No  doubt  they  did. 

1.  And  I  looked,  and  lo,  a  Lamh  stood  on  the  mount  Sion, 
and  with  him  an  hundred  forty  and  four  thousand,  having  his 
Father\s  name  written  in  their  foreheads. 

2.  A7id  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven,  as  the  voice  of  many 
waters,  and  as  the  voire  of  a  great  thunder  ;  and  I  heard  the 
voice  of  harpers  harping  with  their  harps  : 

3.  And  they  sung  as  it  were  a  new  song  hefore  the  throne,  and 
before  the  four  beasts,  and  the  elders :  and  no  man  could  learn 
that  song  but  the  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand  which 
were  redeemed  from,  the  earth. 

4.  These  are  they  which  are  not  defiled  with  women  ;  for  they 
are  virgins.  These  are  they  which  follow  the  Lamh  witherso- 
ever he  goeth.  These  were  redeemed  from  amongst  men,  being 
the  first-fruits  unto  God  and  to  the  Lamh. 

5.  And  in  their  mouth  was  found  no  guile  :  for  they  are 
without  fault  before  the  throne  of  God. 

These  five  verses  show  the  success  of  the  Reformation  to 
the  point  where  Protestantism  became  established.  It  had 
conquered  its  enemies  so  far  as  to  secure  equal  rights  with 
them  in  the  free  exercise  of  its  religion.  This  picture  is  de- 
signed to  show  the  first  separate  and  independent  establish- 
ment of  Protestantism  as  a  church,  when  it  was  placed  be- 
youd  the  reach  of  the  authority  and  power,  either  secular  or 
*  Psalm  iL 


CHAPTER  XIV.  7 

ecclesiastical,  of  the  popedom.  She  has  overcome  the  politi- 
cal power  of  the  great  beast,  and  the  religious  tyranny  of  the 
two-horned  beast,  and  she  is  now  represented  by  the  prophet 
as  standing  with  the  Lamb  on  the  mount  Sion. 

The  meaning  of  this  figurative  scene  is,  that  the  Pro- 
testant Church,  or  the  Church  of  the  Reformation,  had  taken 
a  position  before  the  world  so  elevated  in  point  of  morality 
and  piety,  that  her  doctrines  were  clearly  seen  by  men  to  be 
from  Christ.  This  is  implied  by  the  Lamb  standing  with 
them.  This  is  the  first  great  feature  of  the  church  ;  it  is  the 
Church  of  Christ,  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  hav- 
ing his  Father's  name  written  in  their  foreheads — that  is, 
they  have  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God  ;  their  knowledge  of 
salvation  is  derived  from  the  Word  of  God,  and  not  from  the 
dogmas  of  a  fallen  and  corrupt  church. 

This  triumph  of  the  religion  of  Christ  is  rej^resented  in  the 
second  verse  as  causing  great  joy,  and  producing  wonderful 
and  happy  changes  in  the  condition  and  prospects  of  men. 

Great  changes  in  the  civil  or  religious  condition  of  nations 
are  represented  in  prophetic  style,  by  sounds  that  are  heard 
at  a  great  distance;  startling  and  astonishing  the  people 
who  hear  them.  Hence,  the  prophet  says,  when  this  scene 
of  the  Lamb  and  the  multitude  of  the  redeemed  appeared  : 
And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  (that  is  from  Christendom) 
as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  great  thunder  : 
and  I  heard  the  voice  of  harpers,  harping,  with  their  harps. 

This  was  a  loud  voice  indeed,  which  required  the  tremen- 
dous roar  of  cataracts,  and  the  peals  of  mighty  thunders  to 
give  us  any  adequate  idea  of  it.  But  the  changes  which 
were  to  follow  the  Reformation,  and  reconstruction  of  the 
gospel  church,  were  not  over-estimated,  even  by  this  great 
voice.  The  voice  was  not  the  result  of  a  wild  tumultuous 
outburst  of  excited  passions.  The  harps  gave  a  sacred  char- 
acter, an  order  and  mellowness  to  the  great  sounds,  such  as 
would  harmonize  them  with  the  happy  effects  produced  by  a 
religion  which  breathes  peace  and  good  will  to  men. 


8  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

But  there  is  more  implied  in  this  great  voice  than  merely 
religious  transport.  It  expresses  the  general  effect  produced 
upon  the  nations  by  the  establishment  of  the  Protestant 
religion.  The  happy  changes  which  have  been  introduced  in 
civil  government;  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the 
people,  and  the  increase  of  light  in  all  things  connected  with 
the  happiness  of  man,  have  all  come  out  of  the  success  of  the 
Protestant  religion — the  establishment  of  a  scriptural  and 
national  Christianity  in  the  earth.  These  are  the  effects 
which  are  represented  by  the  great  voice  from  heaven — they 
are  still  jDrogressing,  still  enlarging  the  sphere  of  human 
happiness — and  that  voice  is  still  widening  and  extending  its 
sound.  These  changes  which  are  represented  by  the  voice  of 
great  cataracts  and  peals  of  thunder,  may  be  considered  as 
political  and  moral,  and  as  bearing  chiefly  upon  the  govern- 
ments and  kingdoms  of  the  world,  in  softening  the  hard  and 
cruel  features  of  despotism,  and  breaking  the  chains  of 
tyrannical  power.  But  another  effect  is  described  in  the 
third  verse,  of  an  individual  and  personal  character — this  is 
the  religious  change  which  is  wrought  in  the  hearts  and  lives 
of  those  who  embrace  it.  This  is  represented  by  the  new 
song  which  the  great  multitude  sung  before  the  throne, 
and  before  the  four  beasts,  and  the  elders.  The  subjects 
of  the  Reformation  now  enjoy  the  fullest  liberty  in  the  exer- 
cise of  their  religion.  Openly,  and  without  fear,  they  pro- 
claim their  faith  and  express  their  joy  in  the  Protestant 
religion,  in  the  face  of  the  greatest  earthly  power,  and  amongst 
all  nations  dwelling  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth. 

This  feature  of  the  prophecy  very  well  illustrates  the  pre- 
sent age  of  the  world,  when  we  behold  the  gospel  in  its 
general  diffusion  over  the  world,  giving  peace  to  the  nations 
and  happiness  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  before  the  throne  and 
the  four  beasts  and  the  elders,  according  to  the  views  already 
expressed  on  this  point,  signify  the  four  grand  divisions  of 
the  earth  and  the  nations  that  dwell  in  them.  Through  the 
effects  of  Protestantism,  the  gospel  has  been  sounded — the 


CHAPTER  Xiy.  9 

new  song  has  been  sung  in  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  and  America, 
besides  the  isles  of  the  sea  ;  that  is,  it  has  been  preached, 
either  by  a  living,  zealous  ministry,  or  published  in  the  differ- 
ent languages  of  the  earth.  A^id  they  smig,  as  it  were,  a  iiew 
song.  The  people  heard  this  as  something  new  under  the 
sun,  as  something  that  had  never  been  heard  of  before ; 
whereas,  it  was  as  old  as  Christianity,  as  old  as  from  the  days 
of  Christ  himself,  who  was  its  author.  But  superstition, 
bigotry,  and  ignorance,  false  systems  of  religion  invented  or 
corrupted  by  men,  had  banished  it  from  the  knowledge  of 
the  people,  and  usurped  its  place.  But  now  those  are  driven 
back,  and  the  true  light  shineth  again,  by  means  of  the  Re- 
formation and  the  consequent  spread  of  the  gospel  in  all  lands. 
But  there  are  still  dark  places  in  the  earth,  even  in  Christen- 
dom ;  there  are  multitudes  as  ignorant  of  Christianity  as  the 
Pagans  of  Rome  were,  when  it  first  made  its  appearance 
there!  In  truth,  true  gospel  Christianity  has  received  its 
severest  treatment  from  the  hands  of  Christians — such  as 
bore  the  mark  of  the  two-horned  beast,  and  worshiped  his 
image!  The  reason  why  there  is  so  much  delusion,  such  an 
amount  of  ignorance  on  the  subject  of  religion,  the  prophet 
explains  in  the  third  verse:  And  no  man  could  learn  that  song, 
but  the  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand  which  were  redeemed 
from  the  earth.  In  plain  terms  the  prophet  means  just  what 
Christ  says,  and  his  apostles  have  reVterated — that  no  mau 
can  learn,  know  and  comprehend  the  gospel,  but  those  who 
are  redeemed  by  it — have  experienced  its  power  in  convert- 
ing and  saving  them  from  their  sins.  Such  are  the  hundred 
and  forty-four  thousand,  which  does  not  imply  a  number  at 
all,  as  I  have  before  stated,  but  signifies  equality  in  the 
Divine  favor  to  all,  of  whatever  na7}ie,  or  whatever  nation, 
who  fear  God  and  work  righteousness.  The  gospel  was  not 
given  to  man  as  a  subject  of  speculation,  but  as  matter  of 
experience,  a  divine  reality,  a  saving  power  ;  and  the  man 
who  does  not  know  it  in  this  way  is  wholly  ignorant  of  it;  he 


10  THE  APOCALYPSE  UN  VEILED. 

cannot  learn  this  divine  song  in  any  other  way  than  through 
this  redeeming  power. 

It  will  be  seen  that  I  take  this  song,  spoken  of  by  the  pror 
phet,  to  signify  the  whole  gospel  scheme  of  salvation,  with 
its  saving  power  and  the  comfort  and  joy  it  imparts  to  the 
saints  of  the  Most  High ;  and  that  we  may  not  deceive 
ourselves  as  to  who  and  what  those  saints  are  we  will  hear 
the  prophet's  description  of  them  as  he  gives  it  in  the  fourth 
and  fifth  verses. 

The  first  feature  in  the  character  of  the  hundred  and  forty 
and  four  thousand  is  their  utter  rejection  of  all  participation 
in  the  corruptions  and  defilements  of  the  woman.  The  text 
does  not  convey  the  precise  meaning  of  the  prophet  ;  it  is 
evidently  a  mistranslation.  It  would  be  more  consistent  if  it 
read — "These  are  they  which  are  not  defiled  with  the  wo-, 
man." 

By  turning  to  the  seventeenth  chapter,  second  and  fourth 
verses,  the  true  meaning  of  the  prophet  will  be  seen.  It  is 
there  shown  that  the  defilement  he  speaks  of  was  spiritual — r 
with  whom  the  kings  of  the  earth  have  committed  fornication, 
and  the  inhahitants  of  the  earth  have  been  made  drunk  with  the 
wine  of  her  fornication. 

These  terms,  expressive  of  debauchery,  have  reference  to 
the  corrupt  and  demoralizing  doctrines  taught  by  the  Church 
of  Rome.  That  church  is  symbolized  here  by  the  woman, 
having  a  golden  cup  in  her  hand  full  of  abomination  and 
filthiness  of  her  fornication. 

All  Christendom,  before  the  Reformation,  was  stupified 
and  intoxicated  with  the  contents  of  this  cup,  which  the  wo- 
man pressed  to  their  lips  ;  but  the  hundred  and  forty-four 
thousand,  all  those  who  had  embraced  the  religion  of  the  Re- 
formation, rejected  her  cup,  and  would  not  partake  of  the 
al)omination  and  filthiness  which  it  contained.  They  are  vir- 
gins, and  they  utterly  discard  the  false  doctrines  and  idola- 
trous worship,  together  with  the  vices  allowed,  authorized, 


CHAPTER  XIV.  1 1 

and  sanctioned,  by  the  church  which  this  woman  represents.* 
They  kept  themselves  pure  from  her  corruptions  by  following 
the  Lamh,  practicing  his  teachings,  and  looking  for  salvation 
by  faith  in  his  blood. 

A  very  different  religion  from  that  the  world  had  learned 
from  Rome,  which  hid  Christ  from  the  eyes  of  the  people,  and 
taught  them  to  look  for  salvation  by  the  merit  of  saints  and 
the  worship  of  images.  These,  the  prophet  says,  were  re- 
deemed from  among  men,  and  were  the  first  fruits  or  early 
harvest  unto  God  and  the  Lamb,  which  sprung  from  the  seed 
that  had  been  sowed  by  the  Reformation.  And  in  their 
mouth  was  found  no  guile  :  for  they  are  without  fault  before 
the  throne  of  God. 

This  is  the  brief  but  comprehensive  description  the  prophet 
gives  of  the  people  of  God.  Where  are  they  ?  Wherever 
they  are  found,  and  whatever  name  they  may  bear,  they  be- 
long to  the  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand  ;  they  are 
redeemed  from  amongst  men. 

In  those  two  verses  (the  fourth  and  fifth)  we  have  a  per- 
fect model  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  a  striking  illustration 
of  the  virtues  and  graces  which  adorn  and  dignify  it. 

This  fourteenth  chapter  brings  us  upon  a  new  theater, 
where  everything  wears  a  new  aspect.  The  old,  ferocious 
scenes,  in  which  dragons  and  many-headed  beasts  were  con- 
spicuous, are  entirely  changed.  These  have  all  disappeared, 
as  wild  beasts  of  the  forest  do  at  the  approach  of  day.  An- 
gels now  are  the  ministering  spirits  in  the  affairs  of  men. 
Quite  a  new  influence  is  felt  amongst  the  nations  ;  they 
breathe  easier,  and  man  looks  upon  his  fellow-man  with  a 
confiding  sympathy,  which  assures  him  that  a  happier  day 
has  risen  upon  the  hopes  and  prospects  of  men.  The  reason 
of  all  this  is,  Christianity  is  established  in  the  earth.  The 
people  of  God  are  no  longer  hunted,  persecuted,  and  de- 
stroyed, for  their  faith  in  Christ ;  they  now  stand  in  triumph 

*  See  the  Sale  of  Indulgences  by  Totzel,  Sampson,  and  others. 


12  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

with  the  Lamb  upon  mount  Sion.  The  stake  and  the  fire,  the 
rack  and  torture  of  the  Inquisition  and  edicts  of  despotic 
power,  no  longer  assault  and  oppress  the  people  of  God. 

The  freedom  which  the  Church  of  Christ  now  enjoys  from 
all  this  tyranny  and  persecution  is  happily  expressed  in  the 
sixth  verse  under  the  representation  of  an  angel  ;  not  creep- 
ing on  the  earth  with  fear  and  apprehension,  hntjlying  in  the 
midst  of  /leavert,  in  the  presence  of  all  earthly  power  and  do- 
minion, proclaiming  freely  and  boldly  the  everlasting  gospel 
to  all  nations,  people  and  tongues.  This  angel  represents 
the  numerous  and  various  means,  such  as  the  public  ministers 
of  the  gospel,  bible,  missionary,  and  tract  societies,  and  every 
other  means  employed  by  the  church  to  extend  the  knowledge 
of  the  gospel  over  the  earth  ;  and  in  this  way  it  is  eminently 
characteristic  of  the  great  revival  and  the  wide  diffusion  of 
gospel  religion  which  have  distinguished  the  last  hundred 
years  of  the  church's  history. 

The  sixth  and  seventh  verses  show  precisely  what  was 
taught  in  the  everlasting  gospel  which  this  angel  promul- 
gated. 

6.  And  I  saw  another  angel  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  having 
the  everlasting  gospel  to  preach  unto  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth, 
aTul  every  nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue^  and  people, 

*I.  Saying  with  a  loud  voice,  Fear  God,  and  give  glory  to 
him ;  for  the  hour  of  his  judgment  is  come :  and  worship  him 
that  made  heaven,  and  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  the  fountains  of 
waters. 

The  great  principle  of  gospel  command,  as  announced  by 
the  angel,  is,  that  men  should  fear  God  and  give  glory  to  him. 
This  warning  was  necessary  to  correct  the  superstitious  fear 
that  men  almost  universally  labored  under  of  the  power  of 
the  Pope  and  his  interdicts,  anathemas,  and  excommunica- 
tions. Wherever  the  authority  of  the  Romish  Church  ex- 
tended, this  dread  of  its  power  held  the  people  in  a  stupefied 
state  of  mind,  and  in  a  condition  of  moral  slavery,  as  un- 
friendly to  religious  and  intellectual  improvement  generally 


CHAPTER  Xiy.  13 

as  intoxication  is  to  the  proper  exercise  of  the  rational  facul- 
ties. The  woman,  as  we  have  seen,  had  debauched  all  na- 
tions with  the  cup  of  her  abominations. 

It  is  evident  that  the  people  had  been  under  this  fear  of 
the  Pope  to  such  an  extent  that  all  distinct  recognition  of 
God  as  the  moral  governor  of  the  world  was  lost  out  of  their 
minds.  To  correct  this  false  fear  and  draw  the  people  away 
from  their  superstitious  error,  this  first  command  is  announced 
by  the  angel  :  Fear  God,  and  give  glory  to  him.  Tlie  second 
command  is  :  And  worship  him  that  made  heaven  and  earth, 
and  the  sea,  and  the  fountains  of  waters. 

Idolatrous  worhip,  in  one  form  or  another,  is  almost  a  ne- 
cessary consequence  of  this  ignorant  and  superstitious  fear. 
Under  its  influence  men  are  ever  inclined  to  worship  the  crea- 
ture more  than  the  Creator.  Angels  or  images,  sticks  or 
stones,  or  any  sensible  objects,  present  to  them  subjects  of 
worship  much  more  congenial  with  their  degraded  minds  than 
the  invisible  God.  The  gods  made  by  men's  hands,  and  set 
up  in  the  churches,  private  dwellings,  or  the  public  high- 
ways, are  the  objects  of  their  highest  veneration.  Against 
all  this  idolatry  the  second  warning  of  the  angel  is  directed, 
but  particularly  against  image  worship,  as  being  the  most 
common  form  in  which  this  idolatry  was  practiced  by  the 
Church  of  Rome. 

The  angel  urges  th'ese  commands  by  the  solemn  assurance 
that  the  hour  of  God's  judgment  is  come.  Men  will  no 
longer  be  excused  in  the  practice  of  these  degrading  vices. 
Whatever  excuse  the  days  of  their  former  ignorance  might 
have  furnished  for  their  idolatrous  worship,  the  light  of  the 
gospel  now  points  out  to  every  man  the  only  true  object  of 
religious  worship,  and  leaves  him  no  alternative  but  the  judg- 
ment of  God  if  he  now  persists  in  degrading  Christianity  and 
dishonoring  his  Maker  by  worshiping  saints  and  images. 

The  hour  of  his  judgment  is  come,  is  equivalent  to  saying 
that  a  stricter  accountability  is  now  exacted  of  men,  because 


14  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

a  day  of  greater  light  and  freer  religious  instruction  has  ar- 
rived. 

No  principle  in  the  divine  economy  is  more  clearly  set 
forth  than  this,  that  God  holds  men  to  an  accountability,  the 
strictness  of  which  is  in  proportion  to  the  light  they  have 
and  their  means  of  improvement.  This  our  Savior  taught  on 
several  occasions  :  Where  muck  is  given,  much  is  required. 
He  that  knew  not  his  Lord's  will,  and  did  things  worthy  of 
stripes,  shall  be  beaten  with  few  stripes ;  but  he  that  hiew  his 
Lord's  tcill  and  did  it  not,  shall  be  beatemvith  many  stripes.  St. 
Paul  reVterates  the  same  principle  in  the  divine  government 
in  the  dignified  and  courteous  discourse  which  he  delivered 
on  Mars  Hill  to  the  literati  of  Athens.  After  rebuking  the 
degrading  practice  of  worshiping  gods  made  of  gold  and  sil- 
ver, or  wood  or  stone,  he  says,  the  times  of  this  ignorance 
God  winked  at — overlooked — mercifully  passed  by  the  errors 
and  follies  of  men  when  they  had  no  means  of  knowing  bet- 
ter ;  but  now  that  the  gospel  has  come  into  the  world,  diffusing 
the  knowledge  of  the  true  God  and  his  will,  he  commandeth 
all  men  everywhere  to  repent,  and  turn  away  from  these  dumb 
idols. 

For  almost  a  thousand  years  before  the  Reformation  nearly 
every  feature  of  the  Christian  had  vanished  from  the  church. 
A  cloud  of  ignorance  and  superstition  had  gathered  over 
Christendom  which  efiTectually  shut  out  the  light  of  divine 
truth  from  the  minds  of  the  people.  The  Church  of  Rome 
imparted  no  spiritual  light ;  her  lamps  had  gone  out,  and  the 
people  groped  in  darkness,  not  knowing  whither  they  went. 
They  were  the  black  horse  of  the  third  seal  on  which  the 
Pope  and  the  priests  sat,  goading  and  driving  them  on  in  the 
most  oppressive  and  abject  spiritual  drudgery. 

This  ignorance,  with  its  attendant  vices,  the  people  had  no 
power  to  correct  or  escape  from,  and  in  the  forbearing  gov- 
ernment of  God  his  judgments  were  held  back.  But  now 
the  reformation  has  scattered  the  cloud  of  darkness,  and  the 


CHAPTER  XIV.  15 

light  of  the  gospel  shines  again  upon  the  earth.  The  things 
of  the  former  darkness  must  now  be  laid  aside,  for  the  hour 
of  his  judgment  is  come,  and  men  will  be  held  to  a  strict  ac- 
count for  the  abuse  of  the  light  they  have. 

The  prophet  is  presenting  a  review  of  the  progress  and  ef- 
fects of  the  Reformation.  Thus  far  it  has  established  two  im- 
portant principles  :  the  first  is,  the  proper  object  of  religious 
fear ;  and  the  second,  the  true  object  of  religious  worship. 

Having  produced  so  great  a  change  in  the  religious  char- 
acter of  the  people,  drawing  them  away  from  their  former 
delusion,  the  effect  would  naturally  be  the  downfall  of  the 
system  which  had  deceived  and  corrupted  them.  This  is  an- 
nounced in  the  eighth  verse  :  And  there  followed  another 
angel,  saying,  Babylon  is  fallen,  is  fallen,  that  great  city; 
because  she  made  all  nations  drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of 
her  fornication.  On  the  subject  of  the  great  city,  the  reader 
is  referred  to  what  is  said  on  the  eighth  verse  of  the  eleventh 
chapter.  The  name  of  Babylon  is  here  added  to  show  the 
cruelty  and  oppression  which  the  people  of  God  had  suffered 
from  the  great  city,  A  well-known  characteristic  of  ancient 
Babylon  was  the  unmitigated  cruelty  with  which  she  op- 
pressed the  Jews  in  their  captivity  to  her  power.  The  title 
is  added  here  to  show  a  similarity  in  the  spirit  and  temper  of 
the  two  powers.  The  latter  is  not  only  distinguished  as  an 
oppressor,  but  also  as  a  great  corrupter  of  the  morals  and 
manners  of  the  people.  She  made  all  nations  drink  of  the 
wine  of  the  wrath  of  her  fornication.  In  the  parallel  text  in 
the  seventeeth  chapter,  it  is  said  she  made  them  drunk  with 
the  wine  of  her  fornication.  But,  as  the  people  lose  their 
relish  for  this  wine,  and  are  reclaimed  from  their  moral  intox- 
ication, the  whole  system  supported  by  this  religious  stupor 
begins  to  fall.  The  prophet  represents  the  final  effect  ;  but 
the  system  is  yet  only  in  a  course  of  declension,  going  down, 
but  will  finally  be,  as  he  says,  fallen,  fallen — Babylon  is  fallen. 
The  ninth,  tenth,  and  eleventh  verses,  contain  a  warning  to 


16  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

the  nations  of  Christendom  of  the  judgments  which  will  surely 
follow  if  they  persist  in  supporting  the  corrupt  religion,  re- 
ferred to  as  the  abomination  and  filthiness  contained  in  the 
cup  of  the  woman. 

The  Reformation  had  to  conquer  kingdoms  as  well  as  this 
great  ecclesiastical  Babylon,  The  civil  powers  were  so  united 
to  the  Romish  Church,  that,  although  the  two  were  separate 
in  their  respective  sphere  of  action,  they  were  one  in  religious 
sentiment  and  purpose. 

This  feature  of  reciprocal  support  and  mutual  exercise  of 
power,  ecclesiastical  on  one  side  and  political  on  the  other, 
for  the  maintenance  and  aggrandizement  of  each  other,  is 
most  forcibly  expressed  in  the  figurative  language  of  the  pro- 
phet, seventeenth  chapter,  second  verse  :  icilh  ichom  the,  kings 
of  the  earth  have  committed  fornication,  and  the  inhabitants  of 
the  earth  have  been  made  drunk  with  the  wine  of  her  fornica- 
tion. 

The  first  branch  of  the  text  refers  to  the  reciprocal  exer- 
cise of  power  by  the  church  and  the  thrones  for  the  aggran- 
dizement of  each  other.  The  Popes  crowned  the  kings  and 
emperors,  and  these  in  their  turn  confirmed  the  election  of 
the  Popes,  and  defended  them  in  the  exercise  of  their  exorbi- 
tant pretensions.  The  second  branch  of  the  text  refers  to 
the  unrestrained  license  granted  by  the  church  in  the  sale  of 
indulgences  and  otherwise,  to  the  exercise  of  the  warst  pas- 
sions and  principles  of  human  nature. 

It  is  manifest  that  such  a  combination  of  civil  and  ecclesi- 
astical power  would  prove  a  serious  obstacle  in  the  way  of 
the  Reformation.  Yet  nothing  is  too  strong  for  God  ;  but 
still  he  chooses  to  accomplish  his  wise  and  beneficent  pur- 
poses by  the  employment  of  such  means  as  are  compatible 
with  the  purity  and  dignity  of  his  designs  and  the  happiness 
of  man  ;  but  if  these  means  are  despised  and  rejected,  he  then 
employs  the  rod  of  his  anger.  This  is  precisely  what  the  pro- 
phet designs  to  show  us  in  the  next  three  verses. 


CHAPTER  XIV.  n 

9.  And  the  third  angel  followed  them,  saying  with  a  loud  voice, 
If  any  man  worship  the  beast  and  his  image,  and  receive  his  mark 
in  his  forehead,  or  in  his  hand, 

10.  The  same  shall  drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  God, 
which  is  'poured  out  withoitt  mixture  into  the  cup  of  his  indigna- 
tion ;  and  he  shall  he  torinented  with  fire  and  brimstone  in  the 
presence  of  the  holy  angels,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  Lamb  : 

11.  Aiid  the  smoke  of  their  torment  ascendeth  up  for  ever  a7id 
ever :  and  they  have  no  rest  day  nor  night,  who  worship  the  beast 
and  his  image,  a7id  whosoever  receiveth  the  mark  of  his  name. 

The  third  angel  lays  down  in  these  three  verses  the  law 
which  governs  the  divine  procedure  in  relation  to  those  peo- 
ple and  kingdoms  that  uphold  the  power  and  authority,  and 
maintain  the  religion  of  the  two-horned  beast,  wearing  his 
mark  in  their  forehead  and  hands.  These  shall  suffer  the 
judgments  figuratively  expressed  in  the  tenth  and  eleventh 
verses. 

The  support  given  to  this  beast  as  a  religious  system,  and 
the  opposition  and  obstacles  thrown  in  the  way  of  the  Refor- 
mation, arose  chiefly  from  the  kingdoms  and  governments 
allied  with  the  papacy. 

"  The  powers  that  be"  are  ordained  of  God  as  auxiliaries 
in  the  great  work  of  recovering  the  world  from  the  deep  de- 
generacy and  moral  barbarism  into  which  it  had  fallen  ;  and 
civil  government  answers  this  great  end  of  all  government 
only  so  far  as  its  institutions  rest  upon  the  acknowledged 
sovereignty  of  God  as  the  moral  governor  of  the  world. 
Whatever  comes  in  between  God  and  his  government  over 
the  world,  is  the  usurpation  of  a  power  which  he  has  reserved 
wholly  to  himself.  The  apostle  clearly  refers  to  such  a 
usurpation  when  he  speaks  of  a  power  sitting  in  the  temple  of 
God,  showing  himself  that  he  is  God — (2  Thess.,  11  chap.  4 
verse.)  The  apostle,  while  he  is  instructing  the  Church  of 
Thessalonica,  takes  occasion  to  deliver  this  prophecy  and 
give  notice  beforehand  of  the  blasphemous  pretensions  that 
would  be  set  up  in  future  ages  by  the  pretended  head  of  the 


18  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

church.  He  sat  in  the,  temple  of  God,  therefore  the  prophecy 
can  allude  to  no  other  than  an  ecclesiastical  power. 

The  ecclesiastical  power  w^hich  assumed  this  dominion  over 
the  spiritual  as  well  as  the  temporal  interests  of  men,  struck 
directly  at  the  moral  government  of  God  over  his  creatures; 
and  tended,  inevitably,  to  produce,  sooner  or  later,  a 
moral  revolution.  The  Reformation  struck  directly  at  this 
power.  It  was  the  great  outburst  of  moral  sentiment,  which  felt 
itself  to  be  unrighteously  bound  and  oppressed.  And  what  fol- 
lows this  effort  to  throw  off  the  burthen  of  moral  wrongs  and 
oppression,  but  political  revolutions  ?  If  we  had  not  seen  the 
Reformation  we  should  not  have  seen  the  political  revolutions 
which  have  followed  it.  The  political  or  civil  condition  of 
man  must  be  improved,  to  correspond  with  his  improved  moral 
condition;  and  this  necessarily  produced  struggles  and  revo- 
lutions before  it  could  be  accomplished.  Old  things  in  this 
sense  too,  must  pass  away  and  give  place  to  new  things. 

What  has  marked  the  track  of  the  world's  history  with 
the  wrecks  of  empire  and  the  ruin  of  kingdoms,  once  strong 
in  power  and  wealth,  but  this  principle  of  opposition  to  the 
Divine  government  over  mankind?  If  we  look  upon  the 
face  of  Europe,  and  consult  her  history  since  the  Reforma- 
tion opened  the  eyes  of  men,  we  shall  see  these  effects  pre- 
cisely where  this  principle  is  most  in  practice. 

We  shall  see  the  nations  which  have  the  mark  of  the  beast 
in  their  hand  and  in  their  forehead,  tormented,  as  the  pro- 
phet expresses  it,  with  fire  and  brimstone  ;  their  governments 
revolutionized,  their  kingdoms  falling  to  pieces,  and  others 
rising  in  their  place  only  to  meet  with  the  same  fate,  and  to 
be  shaken  down  by  the  same  powerful  hand  of  moral  and 
intellectual  progress.  We  shall  see  intestine  commotions 
wasting  and  impoverishing  the  nation,  or  the  dread  of  them 
perpetually  agitating  and  distracting  the  people. 

The  prophet  describes  this  condition  of  the  nations  in  the 
vivid  language  of  the  eleventh  verse  :  A^id  the  smoke  of  their 
torment  ascendeth  up  for  ever  and  ever — that  is,  their  sufler- 


CHAPTER  XIY.  19 

ing  will  be  continuous  with  the  existence  of  the  cause  that 
produces  it — and  they  have  no  rest  day  nor  nighty  who  ivorship 
the  beast  and  his  image,  and  whosoever  receiveth  the  mark  of  his 
name. 

I^ow,  let  any  unprejudiced  man  turn  his  eyes  upon  Europe, 
and  look  at  the  history  of  her  nations  for  two  centuries  past, 
and  he  will  not  fail  to  see  a  living,  practical  commentary 
upon  the  announcement  of  this  third  angel,  from  the  ninth  to 
the  eleventh  verse,  inclusive.  Most  strikingly  will  this  ap- 
pear in  the  history  of  Portugal  and  Spain,  the  two  nations 
that  were  conspicuous  in  executing  the  Pope's  commands  to 
extirpate  the  heretics,  meaning  the  promoters  and  subjects 
of  the  Reformation.  These  two  nations  distinguished  them- 
selves for  their  zeal  in  carrying  the  terrors  of  the  Inquisition 
wherever  the  Reformation  extended  its  influence.  They 
were  then  distinguished  for  wealth  and  great  political  conse- 
quence, now  they  are  sunk  deep  in  national  poverty,  torn  and 
distracted  by  intestine  commotions,  with  hardly  enough  gov- 
ernment remaining  to  them  to  be  ranked  as  kingdoms  ;  grop- 
ing in  the  darkness  of  their  antiquated  bigotry,  without  any 
of  those  great  improvements  which  characterize  the  present 
enlightened  day ;  holding  the  doubtful  sceptre  of  their  totter- 
ing authority  with  a  palsied  hand,  and  are  strong  in  nothing 
but  their  bigoted  adherence  to  the  mark  of  the  beast.  Kor 
is  Italy  herself  any  better.  Rome  may  be  said  to  be  a  city 
of  assassins,  where  murder  is  plotted  through  the  day  and 
executed  in  the  darkness  of  night.  The  smoke  of  this  tor- 
ment may  be  seen  ascending  from  other  nations,  from  the 
same  cause  ;  France  has  exhibited  clouds  of  it. 

Upon  the  other  hand,  we  shall  see  the  nations  where  the 
Protestant  religion  has  been  embraced,  and  where  the  light 
and  power  of  a  gospel  Christianity  are  enjoyed  by  the  people, 
living  in  a  state  of  increasing  prosperity,  enjoying  the  bless- 
ings of  civil  liberty,  and  constantly  developing  great  moral 
and  intellectual  powers,  producing  the  most  wonderful  im- 
provements in  the  arts  and  sciences,  all  tending  to  bring 


20  THE  ArOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

mankind  into  a  state  of  brotherhood,  and  to  establish  peace 
and  good  will  amongst  men.  As  a  general  rule  these  are 
fruits  found  only  amongst  the  nations  where  civil  and  reli- 
gious liberty  are  enjoyed  by  the  people. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  prophet.  He  says  that  these 
torments  shall  be  suffered  in  the  presence  of  the  holy  angels  and 
in  the  'presence  of  the  Lamh.     10th  verse. 

The  presence  of  Christ  with  his  church  on  earth  is  one  of 
the  plainest  truths  in  the  Bible.  He  says  :  wheresoever  two 
or  three  are  gatheMd  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the 
midst  of  them. 

The  meaning  of  this  difficult  passage  seems  to  be,  that  the 
nations  and  people,  amongst  whom  is  the  true  church  of  Christ, 
are  designated  here  by  the  title  of  holy  angels,  they  belong  to 
God  in  a  peculiar  sense;  diff'erent  from  that  in  which  all  men 
are  his.  They  shall  witness  these  judgments  upon  tlie  up- 
holders of  a  corrupt  religion,  while,  at  the  same  time,  their 
own  peace  and  security  are  unthreatened.  They  behold 
nations  around  them,  torn  and  distracted  by  storms  of  anar- 
chy and  revolution,  but  they  remain  in  peace  and  quietness  : 
their  safety  arises  from  the  presence  of  the  Lamb  who  stands 
with  them  in  Mount  Zion — the  true  church  of  God. 

The  rich  poetic  strains  of  the  ninety-first  psalm  give  us  a 
beautiful  description  of  that  watchful  care  which  God's  provi- 
dence exercises  over  the  nations  that  walk  in  his  law  and  fear 
his  name. 

That  part  of  the  psalm  which  is  applicable  to  the  present 
subject  is  embraced  in  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth  verses  : 
A  thousand  shall  fall  at  thy  side,  and  ten  thousand  at  thy  right 
hand,  hut  it  shall  not  come  nigh  thee.  Only  with  thine  eye  shalt  thoxh 
behold  and  see  the  reward  of  the  icicked.  Because  thou  hast 
made  the  Lord,  which  is  my  refuge,  even  the  Most  High,  thy 
habitation,  SfC. 

This  general  view  of  the  subject  is  confirmed  by  the  twelfth 
verse,  in  which  it  is  said,  here  is  the  patience  of  the  saints. 
Here  is  the  end  to  which  they  looked — here  is  the  day  of 


CHAPTER  XIV.  21 

gospel  light  and  liberty,  which  had  its  dawning  in  the  Refor- 
mation, and  was  borne  along  by  the  faith  and  patience  of  the 
saints,  until  it  now  reflects  its  light,  not  only  over  Christen- 
dom, but  upon  heathen  lands,  making  the  solitary  places  to 
rejoice,  and  the  desert  to  blossom  as  the  rose.  The  latter 
clause  of  the  verse  shows  that  this  represents  an  earthly 
scene  :  Here  are  they  that  hep  the  commandments  of  God  and 
the  faith  of  Jesus.  Language  such  as  this  can  only  apply  to 
Christians  dwelling  upon  the  earth,  and  it  holds  up  the  purity 
and  holiness  of  their  lives,  and  the  peace  and  security  of  their 
state,  in  contrast  with  those  who  are  sufl'ering  the  judgments 
of  God's  displeasure.  The  conclusion  is,  that  all  those  scenes 
throughout  this  entire  chapter  refer  to  events  which  have 
their  origin  and  consummation  in  this  world. 

13.  And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying  unto  me,  Write, 
Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth : 
Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors  ;  and 
their  works  do  follow  them. 

The  doctrine  contained  in  this  verse  is  not  announced  by 
the  angel  ;  but  it  is  the  voice  of  the  gospel :  And  I  heard  a 
voice  from  heaven,  Sfc. 

One  of  the  grand  peculiarities  of  the  gospel  is  that  it  alom 
brings  life  and  immortality  to  light.  What  was  before  dimly 
seen  even  by  good  men,  and  but  partially  understood,  is  by 
the  gospel  made  as  clear  and  distinct  to  the  believer's  mind 
as  any  other  truth  which  it  proclaims. 

This  chief  light  of  the  Christian's  hope,  together  with  al- 
most all  the  other  truths  of  divine  revelation,  were  lost  in  the 
general  darkness  which  involved  the  church  for  a  thousand 
years.  Ji  was  recovered  by  the  Reformation,  and  is  now 
proclaimed  by  the  gospel  church  as  a  most  comfortable  and 
encouraging  doctrine.  The  proj^het  is  commanded  to  icrite 
it — that  is,  to  place  it  permanently  and  conspicuously  before 
the  world  as  the  great  solace  and  comfort  of  the  Christian  in 
his  trials  and  afflictions  of  this  life  ;  that  whenever  or  hoW' 
ever  he  may  fall,  he  is  blessed  in  his  death,  even  more  than 


22  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

he  could  be  in  his  life.  Write  it,  proclaim  it  from  henceforth, 
blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord,  that  they  7/iay  rest  from 
their  labors.  They  enter  at  once  into  rest — endless,  glorious 
rest. 

How  needful  it  was  that  this  doctrine  should  occupy  a  po- 
sition in  the  foreground  of  the  new  gospel  church,  will  be 
seen  when  we  consider  the  absurd  and  monstrous  assumption 
of  the  Church  of  Rome  in  presuming  to  control  the  future 
state  of  the  dead.  By  the  doctrine  of  purgatory,  that  church 
claims  to  exercise  an  agency  over  the  souls  of  men  after  they 
have  left  this  world. 

To  be  consistent  with  a  state  of  purgatory,  the  text  should 
read  :  "  Blessed  are  the  dead  when  they  have  escaped  from 
purgatory  ;"  for  surely  they  do  not  rest  while  they  are  in  pur- 
gatory. 

All  idea  of  this  intermediate  state  as  a  means  of  purifica- 
tion from  sin  of  the  departed,  is  exploded  by  the  text — 
Blessed  are  the  dead  ivhich  die  in  the  Lord,  for  they  rest.  When 
they  die  they  rest  from  their  labors  ;  they  go  at  once  to  this 
glorious  reward,  not  to  purgatory. 

To  this  monstrous  device  of  the  Romish  Church  is  very 
nearly  allied  the  saying  in  the  service  of  another  church,  "  he 
*'  descended  into  hell."  This  too  strongly  supports  the 
Romish  doctrine  of  the  existence  of  a  state  of  purgatory  after 
death. 

The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  disclaims  all  idea  of 
meaning  that  Christ  actually  descended  into  the  place  of  tor- 
ment. But  would  it  not  be  much  better  to  drop  the  objec- 
tionable phrase  altogether  ;  and  if  they  mean  to  quote  the 
Apostles'  Creed,  to  say  that  which  would  convey  the  true 
meaning  of  the  apostle,  instead  of  what  he  never  meant  to 
say?  (1  Cor.  XV.)  Let  us  return  to  the  text.  And  their 
works  follow  them.  Not  to  a  bar  of  final  judgment,  as  some 
have  supposed  ;  but  the  influence  and  light  of  their  godly 
lives  while  on  earth  still  remain,  and  perpetuate  their  good 
deeds  and  holy  example  amongst  men. 


CHAPTER  XIY.  ^8 

The  life  of  a  good  man  does  not  die  with  him  ;  it  lives  in 
the  memory  and  is  cherished  in  the  hearts  of  his  Christian 
friends  who  remain  on  earth  ;  and  whilst  the  recollection  of 
his  godly  conversation  cheers  and  stimulates  the  weary  pil- 
grim with  fresh  hopes  and  renewed  purposes  of  holy  effort,  it 
often,  like  the  writing  upon  the  walls  of  Belshazzar,  strikes 
the  heart  of  the  sinner  with  fear  and  trembling.  When  no 
outward  voice  will  be  Hstened  to — when  the  minister  warns 
in  vain,  and  cries  aloud  to  no  purpose,  from  some  silent  tomb, 
where  rests  a  departed  saint,  a  voice  comes  up  and  smites  the 
conscience  of  the  ungodly  with  penitential  sorrow. 

Perhaps  a  pious  mother,  whose  tears  and  entreaties  were 
spent  in  vain  upon  her  obdurate  son,  uttered,  as  the  last  ex- 
pressions heard  from  her  death-cold  lips,  "  my  son  I"  These 
words  never  left  his  ear,  but  kept  his  mother's  holy  life  and 
pious  counsel  present  to  his  mind,  until  he  bowed  himself 
to  a  voice  from  the  grave  which  he  would  not  listen  to  in  life. 
Thus  do  their  works  follow  them. 

THE  HARVEST  AND  THE  VINTAGE. 

The  remaining  portion  of  the  chapter,  from  the  fourteenth 
verse,  is  employed  in  referring  to  the  two  grand  divisions  of 
the  Christian  dispensation,  and  in  showing  the  mode  of  the 
divine  government  in  each  of  them. 

Upon  this  point  I  wish  to  make  myself  distinctly  under- 
stood, as  the  views  and  opinions  which  I  have  drawn  from 
the  Bible  differ  materially  from  the  commonly-received  ex- 
planations of  these  verses.  I  speak  of  the  two  great  divisions 
of  the  Christian  age,  in  the  sense  in  which  I  think  the  Jewish 
prophets  and  Christ  and  his  apostles  spoke  of  them — the  first, 
a  day  eminently  distinguished  for  its  grace  and  mercy  ;  and 
the  second,  a  day  as  eminently  distinguished  for  the  primitive 
dispensations  of  the  divine  providence — a  day  of  judgment. 

The  former  is  the  period  when  the  mercy  of  God  is  em- 
ployed in  drawing  and  entreating  men  to  repent  and  be  saved ; 


24  THE  APOCALYPSE  .UNYEILED. 

when  God,  with  all  long-sufifermg  and  forbearance,  is,  in 
Christ  Jesus,  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself.  The  idea 
the  Bible  gives  us  of  this  part  of  the  Christian  age  is,  that 
the  Divine  Mercy  puts  up  with  every  sort  of  insolence  and 
insult  which  the  sinner  may  throw  in  the  face  of  heaven ; 
that  it  bears  long  and  is  kind  to  men,  to  convince  them  that 
God  desires  not  the  destruction  of  the  sinner,  but  rather  that 
he  should  turn  to  him  and  live.  But  the  words  of  Christ 
present  the  strongest  view  of  the  tender  mercy  and  long- 
suflfering  shown  to  the  wicked  in  this  jSrst  portion  of  the 
Christian  dispensation.  He  says  :  All  manner  of  sin  and 
blasphemy,  except  that  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  shall  be  forgiven 
unto  men.  This  is  the  character  of  the  day  of  grace  given  by 
our  Lord  himself  ;  this  is  the  day  he  speaks  of  when  he  says, 
ioo7'k  while  it  is  called  to-day  ;  for  the  night  cometh  when  no  man 
can  see  to  work. 

The  common  interpretation  given  to  these  words  of  Christ, 
that  the  night  he  speaks  of  means  the  state  after  death,  has 
no  fitness  at  all  in  it.  It  would  hardly  comport  with  the  dig- 
nity and  wisdom  of  Christ,  as  a  teacher,  to  spend  time  in  ad- 
monishing men  that  they  will  not  be  able  to  work  after  they 
are  dead.  It  is  the  universal  sentiment  of  mankind  that 
death  puts  an  end  to  all  things. 

It  was  not  the  death  of  the  body  that  Christ  referred  to 
when  he  spoke  of  the  night  when  no  man  could  work.  He 
meant  that  this  age  of  great  gospel  mercy,  in  which  the  grace 
of  God  was  urging  and  pressing  men  to  accept  of  salvation, 
would  have  an  end,  and  would  be  followed  by  an  age  as  dif- 
ferent in  the  mode  of  the  divine  dispensations  as  the  night  is 
from  the  day.  Therefore  he  urges  his  church  to  avail  herself 
of  those  gracious  means  to  spread  her  influence  over  the 
earth — to  do  all  she  can  do  while  this  day  and  those  means 
last. 

The  great  day  of  these  means  of  grace  is  fitly  illustrated 
by  the  harvest  season  of  the  world:  the  time  of  gathering  and 
Baving  men  by  means  of  gospel  grace  and  mercy.     Christ 


CHzVPTER  XIV.  25 

compares  this  day  to  a  harvest:  The,  harvest  truly  is  great, 
hut  the  laborers  are  few,  pray  you  therefore  the  Lord  of  the  har- 
vest that  he  may  send  forth  more  laborers  into  his  field.  Jere- 
miah, 8  chap.  :  20,' emploj-s  the  same  mode  of  illustration  : 
The  harvest  is  past  and  the  summer  is  ended  and  we  are  not 
saved. 

The  use  I  wish  to  make  of  these  quotations  is  to  show  that 
the  prophet,  when  he  speaks  of  reaping  the  earth,  does  not 
mean  the  infliction  of  judgment  upon  the  earth,  as  some 
commentators  have  imagined,  but  the  contrary  ;  he  means  a 
gathering  of  the  people  into  the  fold  of  Christ  by  the  means 
which  God's  tender  mercy  has  appointed  for  that  purpose. 
The  harvest  state  of  the  world  is  the  gospel  day,  and  is  re- 
presented in  the  three  following  verses  : 

14.  And  J  loohed,  and  behold  a  ichite  cloud,  and  upon  the 
doud  one  sat  like  unto  the  Son  of  man,  having  on  his  head  a 
golden  crown,  and  in  his  hand  a  sharp  sickk. 

15.  And  another  angel  came  out  of  the  temple,  crying  with  a 
loud  voice  to  him  that  sat  on  the  cloud.  Thrust  in  thy  sickle,  and 
reap :  for  the  time  is  come  for  thee  to  reap  ;  for  the  harvest  of 
the  earth  is  ripe. 

1.6.  And  he  that  sat  on  the  cloud  thrust  in  his  sicJde  on  the 
earth;  and  the  earth  was  reaped. 

The  first  of  these  verses  presents  a  scene  which  the  eye 
may  dwell  upon  with  pleasure.  It  does  not  show  us  the 
black  storm-cloud,  speeding  its  way  over  the  heavens,  and 
by  its  flashing  lightnings  and  pealing  thunders  making  the 
very  earth  tremble  with  fear  ;  but  it  shows  the  soft  ivhite 
cloud  which  portends  no  angry  storm  ;  spreading  its  fleecy 
drapery  over  the  horizon,  and  as  it  receives  the  rays  of  the 
descending  sun  reflects  them  in  a  thousand  brilliant  and  beau- 
tiful hues. 

Upon  the  white  cloud  sat  one  like  unto  the  Son  of  man, 
wearing  a  golden  crown,  and  bearing  in  his  hand  a  sharp 
sickle.  The  whole  figure  represents  preeminent  power,  pure 
and  holy  in  its  dispensations,  as  the  crown  of  gold  signifies. 

VOL.  II. —  2 


26  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

In  ,1  word  it  is  the  gospel  dispensation.  Christ  administers 
it  bj  his  Spirit!  this  is  the  holy  person  seated  upon  the  cloud 
being  like  unto  the  Son  of  man.  The  Spirit  is  to  do  in  the 
church,  and  in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  just  as  Christ  would 
do  if  he  were  personally  present.  The  sickle  signifies  the 
effective  means  employed  in  the  salvation  of  men  ;  as  the 
sickle  is  the  proper  instrument  of  reaping  the  harvest,  the 
white  cloud  shows  the  dispensation  to  be  one  of  preeminent 
mercy,  and  not  of  wrath. 

Another  angel  came  out  of  the  temple  crying  with  a  loud 
voice,  to  him  that  sat  on  the  cloud :  thrust  in  thy  sicJde :  for 
the  time  is  come  for  thee  to  reap  ;  for  the  harvest  of  the  earth 
is  ripe!  What  is  this  loud  voice  coming  out  of  the  temple, 
but  the  earnest  and  fervent  prayer  of  the  church  for  the 
spread  of  the  gospel  and  the  conversion  of  the  world  ?  And 
he  that  sat  on  the  cloud  thrust  in  his  sickle  in  the  earth  and 
the  earth  was  reaped. 

The  power  of  the  Spirit  and  the  prayers  of  the  church 
have  been  blended  in  this  holy  effort  ever  since  the  introduc- 
tion of  Christianity  into  the  world.  But  not  always  with 
equal  success.  During  the  dark  ages  of  the  church,  the  time 
of  her  great  apostacy,  almost  nothing  at  all  was  done  but 
sowing  tares.  But  when  the  Reformation  had  fully  restored 
the  day  of  gospel  light,  the  cry  went  out:  thrust  in  thy  sickle, 
for  the  time  is  come  for  thee  to  reap.  The  eighteenth  and  nine- 
teenth centuries,  at  least  so  far  as  the  latter  has  transpired, 
will  ever  stand  prominent  as  the  period  in  which  the  power 
of  God  and  the  conquests  of  divine  grace  were  most  remark- 
able in  the  salvation  of  men. 

We  have  not  yet  reached  the  period  signified  in  the  last 
clause  of  the  sixteenth  verse :  And  the  earth  was  reaped. 
Still  the  white  cloud  holds  its  station  in  the  sky,  like  the 
covenant  bow,  and  the  angel,  uniting  his  sickle  with  the 
pniyers  of  the  saints,  is  still  reaping. 

]5ut  tliis  harvest  has  its  end — this  reaping  comes  to  a  close, 
and  in  the  language  of  Jeremiah,  multitudes  and  millions  will 


CHAPTER  XIV.  2t 

say  :  The  harvest  is  past,  the  summer  is  ended,  and  we  are  not 
saved.  When  this  will  be  is  not  for  me  to  say  ;  all  that  I 
shall  undertake  to  do,  will  be,  to  show  what  is  to  follow  the 
reaping  of  the  earth  ;  the  chief  characteristics  of  that  time, 
are  condensed  in  the  following  four  verses  of  the  chapter  : 

17.  And  another  angel  came  out  of  the  temple  which  is  in 
heaven,  he  also  having  a  sharp  sicJde. 

18.  And  another  angel  came  out  from  the  altar,  which  had 
poiver  over  fire  ;  and  cried  with  a  loud  cry  to  him  that  had  the 
sharp  sicJxle,  saying.  Thrust  in  thy  sharp  sickle,  and  gather  the 
clusters  of  the  vine  of  the  earth  ;  for  her  grapes  are  fully  ripe. 

19.  And  the  angel  thrust  in  his  sickle  into  the  earth,  and 
gathered  the  vine  of  the  earth,  and  cast  it  into  the  great  wine- 
press of  the  wrath  of  God. 

20.  And  the  wine-press  was  trodden  without  the  city,  and 
blood  came  out  of  the  wine-press,  even  unto  the  horse  bridles,  by 
the  space  of  a  thotosand  and  six  hundred  furlongs. 

These  verses  introduce  the  wine-press  age  of  the  world,  and 
present  a  dispensation  as  different  from  the  gospel-day  as  the 
night  is  from  the  day. 

It  is  said  in  relation  to  the  work  of  the  first  angel,  when 
it  was  completed — and  the  earth  was  reaped,  signifying  that 
the  dispensation  of  the  harvest  was  ended.  Then  follows  the 
wine-press  dispensation. 

This  is  the  idea  presented  by  those  two  representations. 
Nothing  could  more  fully  express  the  severe  judgments,  the 
fearfull  calamities,  which  the  Scriptures  inform  us  will  dis- 
tinguish the  latter-day  trials,  than  the  crushing  pressure  of 
the  wine-press  ;  and,  as  if  to  give  additional  force  to  the 
figure,  the  prophet  says — and  blood  came  out  of  the  wine-press, 
even  unto  the  horse  bridles,  by  the  space  of  a  thousand  and  six 
hundred  furlongs,  representing  these  judgments  as  most  fear- 
full  in  their  effects  and  extensive  in  their  operations.  This 
has  been  taken  by  commentators  to  signify  devastating  wars, 
because  mention  is  made  of  the  flowing  out  of  a  great  quan- 
tity of  blood,  even  to  the  horses'  bridles.    But  both  the  blood 


28  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

and  the  horses,  as  well  as  the  press  and  clusters  of  grapes,  are 
figurative,  and  are  used  only  to  heighten  the  effect  of  the 
symbolical  representation.  The  wine-press  age  will  be  an  age 
in  which  the  indignation  of  heaven  against  all  ungodliness 
will  be  revealed  by  the  most  severe  and  overwhelming  judg- 
ments, and  that  age  will  succeed  the  present  dispensation  of 
gospel  mercy. 

There  is  much  to  be  said  in  support  of  this  opinion  of  two 
distinct  dispensations  in  the  Christian  era  ;  but  I  shall  not 
now  enter  fully  into  that  subject,  but  will  defer  the  arguments 
upon  it  until  I  come  to  speak  of  the  day  of  judgment,  which 
I  intend  to  do  in  a  separate  chapter.  Something  more,  how- 
ever, may  be  said  at  present  of  the  nature  and  design  of  the 
wine-press  dispensation.  Of  its  purpose  it  might  be  sufficient 
to  say  that  it  is  to  effect  the  objects  which  the  gospel  itself 
has  aimed  at — viz.:  to  turn  men  from  their  iniquities  and 
bring  them  to  the  fear  of  God. 

The  wine-press  age  will  not  be  a  war  of  destruction  and 
carnage  of  human  life  ;  but  it  will  be  an  unrelentless  war 
against  the  false  and  corrupt  systems  of  men,  by  which  wick- 
edness is  shielded,  and  the  righteousness  of  God  is  opposed. 
These  systems  will  all  be  broken  down — scattered  and  de- 
stroyed like  the  chaff  of  the  summer  threshing-flour,  or,  as  it 
is  elsewhere  expressed,  be  burnt  up  like  stubble.  Christ  has 
reference  to  this  wine-press  day  when  he  says  :  The  Son  of 
Man  shall  send  forth  his  angels^  and  they  shall  gather  out  of 
his  kingdom  all  things  that  offend,  and  them  which  do  iniquity. 
The  angels  he  refers  to  can  be  nothing  less  than  the  severe 
judgments  of  the  wine-press  dispensation,  adapted  to  the  pur- 
pose of  destroying  the  institutions  of  ungodliness  amongst 
men. 

That  the  two  dispensations,  the  harvest  and  the  wine- 
press, belong  to  the  Christian  era,  is  evident  from  the  fact 
that  the  prophet  says  he  saw  the  two  angels  that  directed 
and  presided  over  each  dispensation  come  out  of  the  temple — 
that  is,  as  he  means  to  say,  both  these  institutions  will  exist 


CHAPTER  XI Y.  29 

successively  in  the  Christian  age  of  the  world.  When  the 
gospel  is  no  longer  effectual  in  drawing  men  to  God,  his  judg- 
ments will  then  be  employed  in  revealing  the  wrath  of  God 
against  all  unrighteousness  of  men.  The  wine-press  dispen- 
sation synchronizes  with  the  seventh  trumpet  age.  It  is  the 
symbol  which  gives  character  or  feature  to  the  administra- 
tion of  the  divine  government  in  that  period  of  the  Christian 
age — a  time  of  severe  and  pressing  judgments.  But  it  does 
no  more  ;  it  does  not  signalize  particular  events.  This  the 
prophet  does  himself. 

Another  fact  we  learn  from  the  prophet  is,  that  this  age  of 
judgment  is  not  for  the  people  of  God  ;  it  is  not  intended  to 
form  tlie  rule  of  the  divine  proceeding  with  respect  to  the 
church,  and  hence  he  tells  us  the  wine-press  was  trodden  with- 
out the  city. 

City,  is  a  term  used  to  denote  Christian  institutions  ; 
churches,  and  even  civil  governments,  or  countries  whose 
political  institutions  are  strongly  imbued  with  the  doctrines 
and  teachings  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  are  called  a  city. 
But  still  the  term  does  not  always  imply  a  church  entirely 
pure  in  its  doctrines  and  its  practice.  It  may  hold  the 
essential  truths  of  the  gospel,  and  yet  incorporate  in  its  prac- 
tice things  highly  offensive  to  God.  Examples  of  this  occur 
amongst  the  seven  churches  of  Asia — that  of  Thyatira  par- 
ticularly. So  that  when  the  prophet  speaks  of  the  city,  we 
must  look  at  the  peculiar  circumstances  with  which  that  city 
stands  connected  in  his  vision,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  char- 
acter of  the  Christian  church  he  refers  to. 

As  before  stated,  the  judgments  and  trials  of  the  wine- 
press came  in  after  the  gospel  or  harvest  age  is  over,  conse- 
quently all  those  who  were  brought  to  God  by  the  gospel, 
and  were  enlightened  and  saved  by  it,  will  not  require  the 
judgments  of  the  wine-press  age. 

The  wine-press  beiug  trodden  without  the  city,  can  signify 
nothing  else  than  that  its  calamities  will  fall  only  upon  those 
nations  and  peopY  who  reject  the  gospel,  and  upon  Christian 


30  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

churches  that  hold  the  truth  in  uurighteousness,  and  have, 
by  their  worldly  spirit  and  ambition,  changed  the  truth  of 
God  into  a  lie,  as  the  apostle  foretold  would  be  done.  Such 
are  outside  of  the  city,  not  holding  and  practicing  the  gos- 
I)el  doctrines  in  their  purity.  This  opinion  will  be  found  to 
coincide  with  the  pictorial  representation  of  the  wine-press 
age,  as  the  prophet  saw  it,  in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XY. 

HE    SEA    OF    GLASS. 

1.  And  I  saw  another  sign  in  heaven,  great  and  marvellous, 
seven  angels  having  the  seven  last  plagues;  for  in  them  is  filled 
up  the  wrath  of  God. 

2.  And  I  saw  as  it  were  a  sea  of  glass  mingled  with  fire; 
and  them  that  had  gotten  the  victory  over  the  least,  and  over  his 
image,  and  over  his  mark,  and  over  the  number  of  his  name, 
stand  on  the  sea  of  glass,  having  the  harps  of  God. 

3.  And  they  sing  the  song  of  Moses  the  servant  of  God,  and 
the  song  of  the  Lamh,  saying,  Great  and  marvellous  are  thy 
works,  Lord  God  Almighty  ;  'yust  and  true  are  thy  ways,  thou 
King  of  saints. 

4.  Who  shall  not  fear  thee,  O  Lord,  and  glorify  thy  name  ? 
for  thou  only  art  holy :  for  all  nations  shall  come  and  worship 
before  thee  ;  for  thy  judgments  are  made  manifest. 

After  introducing  the  seven  angels  who  are  appointed  to 
execute  the  judgments  of  God  in  the  wine-press  age,  the 
prophet  gives  a  description  of  the  first  remarkable  scene 
which  was  disclosed  in  this  vision  :  And  I  saw  as  it  were  a 
sea  of  glass,  mingled  with  fire. 

Fire  is  the  emblem  of  severe  and  trying  affliction — not 
always  in  the  same  form  ;  sometimes  it  is  brought  on  by 
wars,  which  consume  nations  and  overwhelm  the  people  with 
distress.  Pestilence,  and  famine  too,  are  amongst  the  calami- 
ties of  which  fire  is  the  most  striking  emblem. 

The  fire  which  mingled  with  the  sea  in  the  prophet's  de- 


32  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

scription,  is  to  be  regarded  in  no  other  light  than  as  judg- 
ments, or  Divine  inflictions,  with  which  he  will,  in  that  period 
of  the  world  visit  ungodly  nations.  So  common  and  univer- 
sal will  they  be  as  to  give  character  to  that  age  ;  it  is  spoken 
of  as  the  Day  of  Judgvient  and  perdition  of  ungodly  men ! 
So  much,  by  way  of  explanation,  of  the  fire  which  mingled 
with  the  sea  of  glass,  or  what  appeared  to  the  prophet  to  be 
a  sea  of  glass. 

The  next  enquiry  is,  what  does  the  sea  of  glass  represent  ? 
I  have  just  said  that  the  fire  is  emblematical  of  the  judg- 
ments of  that  day  ;  and,  we  must  regard  the  sea  of  glass  as 
representing  the  moral  and  intellectual  state  of  mankind  in 
that  age.  It  certainly  can  have  no  reference  to  anything 
physical  or  natural.  The  progress  and  improvement  of  the 
human  intelligence,  even  in  the  present  time,  is  a  subject  of 
wonder  and  astonishment  to  man  himself  ]  and  from  its  state 
now  we  may  indulge  in  the  largest  expectations  of  what  it 
will  be  when  that  age  arrives,  which  will  be  distinguished 
by  the  sea  of  glass. 

In  this  sense  the  glass  signifies  transparency,  a  clear  and 
quick  perception  of  things  ;  when  nothing  is  in  doubt  or 
darkness  ; — the  wine-press  age  will,  in  respect  to  the  human 
mind,  be  a  luminous  age. 

Christ  and  St.  Paul  both  speak  of  this  period  in  terms 
that  leave  us  in  no  doubt  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  sea  of 
glass. 

Christ  says,  to  this  effect  :  that  which  is  now  sjpohen  in  the 
closet  or  whispered  in  the  ear :  meaning  the  secret  counsels  and 
private  schemes  of  men,  which  they  are  generally  able  to 
keep  to  themselves  until  they  have  effected  their  selfish  and 
wicked  purposes,  will  be  as  fully  known  on  that  day  as  if 
they  were  proclaimed  upon  the  house  top.  Every  thought, 
every  secret  purpose  of  the  heart  will  then  be  made  known, 
by  the  keen,  clear  perception  of  the  human  mind.  Men  will 
not  then  be  able  to  conceal  their  evil  designs  under  the  cloak 
of  religion;  they  will  not  then,  as  Pollock  say  :  "  Steal  the 


CHAPTER  XV.  '  33 

"  livery  of  heaven  to  serve  the  devil  in,"  without  incurring 
the  hazard  of  prompt  exposure.  Nothing  that  offends  or 
maketh  a  lie  can  be  secretly  contrived  in  that  day  ;  the 
deceit,  falsehood,  and  hypocricy,  by  which  men  now  pros- 
per, and  deceive  their  fellow-men,  will  not  then  avail  any- 
thing. 

St.  Paul,  speaking  for  the  church,  says  of  this  same  period: 
Now :  that  is,  in  the  present  time  or  gospel  age — /  know  in 
jpart,  hut  then  I  shall  know  even  as  also  I  am  known.  Now  ice 
see  through  a  glass  darkly,  hut  then  face  to  face.  All  things 
will  then  be  known,  and  men  will  comprehend  each  other's 
motives  and  purposes  as  distinctly  as  they  now  see  the  fea- 
tures in  each  other's  face.  This  great  improvement  in  the 
human  mind  does  not  imply  anything  miraculous,  it  will  be 
the  natural  result  of  the  expansion  of  mind  by  improved 
modes  of  instruction.  In  almost  every  department  of  life 
great  and  astonishing  improvements  appear,  but  in  the  mode 
of  teaching  or  imparting  knowledge  to  the  mind,  the  old  sys- 
tems maintain  their  position.  These,  probably  will  all  be 
swept  away,  and  be  made  to  give  place  to  methods  of  instruc- 
tion which  will  rapidly  expand  the  intellect  and  fill  the  mind 
with  knowledge,  as  far  above  its  present  attainments  as  the 
improvements  in  the  arts  and  sciences  now  surpass  the  un- 
civilized state  of  man.  This  will  bring  about  a  state  of 
human  intelligence  corresponding  with  what  Christ  and  the 
apostle,  in  the  above  quotations,  say  respecting  it. 

The  principles  and  purposes  of  the  Divine  government, 
especially  the  judgments  with  which  the  Almighty  will  pun- 
ish unrighteousness,  will  then  be  distinctly  seen  and  clearly 
comprehended  by  men  of  that  day.  In  short  the  age  repre- 
sented l3y  the  sea  of  glass  will  have  none  of  that  darkness, 
mystery,  and  uncertainty  •^^hich  now  make  the  ways  of  Pro- 
vidence obscure  and  incomprehensible.  Everything  con- 
nected with  man's  moral  accountability  and  God's  primitive 
government  will  then  be  made  manifest. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  present  age  of  the  Christian  dis- 

VOL.  II. — 2* 


34  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

pensation,  more  mysterious  and  dark  tlian  the  judgments  of 
God.  Of  many  of  these  we  know  nothing  at  all,  so  as  to 
connect  the  cause  with  the  judgment ;  and,  it  is  very  likely, 
we  are  frequently  called  to  witness  scenes  of  sorrow  and  to 
sympathise  with  men  in  their  calamities,  about  which  we 
should  entertain  different  views,  if  we  could  see  things  as 
they  will  be  seen  in  that  sea  of  glass.  This  mystery  has 
always  shrouded  the  Divine  judgments.  The  Psalmist  was 
so  amazed  in  his  contemplation  of  them,  that  he  exclaimed  : 
Thy  judgments  are  a  great  deep !  comparing  them  to  the  sea, 
into  which  the  vision  of  man  cannot  penetrate,  and  discover 
what  lies  concealed  in  its  profoundest  depths.  But  this  great 
sea  of  God's  judgments  will  become,  as  it  were,  a  sea  of 
glass,  in  which  all  the  acts  of  Divine  Providence  will  be  as 
manifest  to  the  enlightened  mind  of  man  as  the  objects  which 
now  surround  us  are  to  our  sense  of  seeing.  The  fourth  verse 
confirms  this  view.  The  song  which  the  prophet  had  heard 
sung  by  them  that  stood  upon  the  sea  of  glass  concludes 
with  this  declaration  :  For  all  nations  shall  come  and  ivorship 
before  thee  ;  for  thy  judgments  are  made  manifest.  The  people 
of  that  day  will  know,  assuredly,  that  the  calamities  they 
suffer  are  not  produced  by  the  caprice  or  passions  of  men, 
but  are  in  reality  the  judgments  of  God,  now  made  clear  and 
manifest  to  all. 

The  next  feature  connected  with  this  sea  of  glass  mingled 
with  fire  is,  that  which  represents  the  righteous — the  saints 
of  the  Most  High,  as  standing  upon  this  sea  of  glass ! 

The  prophet  speaks  of  these  in  the  second  verse  :  And  I 
saw  as  it  were  a  sea  of  glass  mingled  with  fire  ;  and  them  that 
had  gotten  the  victory  over  the  beast,  and  over  his  image,  and 
over  his  mark,  and  over  the  number  of  his  nam.e.  These  signify 
the  apostate  church,  which  had  tts  existence  in  connexion 
with  these  enumerated  powers  ;  against  these — against  all 
opposition,  the  people  of  God  prevailed  :  And  they  now  staiid 
on  the  sea  of  glass  ;  having  the  harps  of  God.  These  repre- 
sent tlie  dty,  without,  or  outside  of  which  the  wine-press  was 


CHAPTER  XV.  35 

trodden.  Their  position  :  standing  on  the  sea  of  glass  min- 
gled with  fire,  is  intended  to  exhibit  the  true  church  of  God 
in  that  day,  as  not  connected  with  the  judgments  of  the  wine- 
press, she  is  not  affected  by  them,  she  stands  upon,  or 
above  them.  This,  I  repeat,  is  a  pictorial  illustration  of  the 
saying  of  the  prophet  :  And  the  wine-press  was  trodden  with- 
out the  city.  The  employment  of  those  he  saw,  having  the 
liarps  of  God,  and  singing  the  songs  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb, 
identify  them  as  the  city  of  the  living  God. 

The  great  and  trying  judgments  of  the  wine-press  age,  are 
typified  by  the  fire  mingling  with  the  sea  of  glass.  These 
judgments  are  the  necessary  means  of  contending  with  the 
proud  and  lofty  intelligence  of  the  men  of  that  day.  The 
scoffers  spoken  of  by  St.  Peter,  who  will,  in  their  pride, 
scornfully  deride  the  threatened  judgments  of  the  Almighty 
against  them. 

Perhaps  some  of  my  readers  do  not  yet  perceive  the  appli- 
cation of  these  remarks,  as  explanatory  of  the  saying  of  the 
prophet :  And  the  wine-press  was  trodden  withont  the  city.  I 
will,  therefore,  conclude  what  I  have  to  say  upon  that 
point,  by  introducing  the  beautiful  language  of  the  Psalmist, 
in  his  XCI.  Psalm,  where  he  celebrates  the  safety  of  the 
righteous  in  the  time  of  great  calamity  :  A  thousand  shall 
fall  at  thy  side,  and  ten  thousand  at  thy  right  hand,  hut  it  shall 
not  come  nigh  thee !  Only  with  thine  eyes  shalt  thou  lehold  and 
see  the  reward  of  the  wicked.  Because  thou  hast  made  the  Lord, 
which  is  my  refuge,  even  the  Most  High,  thy  habitation,  Sfc. 

The  song  of  them  that  stood  upon  the  sea  of  glass,  con- 
cludes with  the  declaration  that  :  All  nations  shall  come  and 
worship  before  thee ;  for  thy  judgments  are  made  manifest. 
This  instructs  us  as  to  what  is  the  true  end  of  those  judg- 
ments— this  fire,  that  mingled  with  the  sea  of  glass.  It  is,^ 
that  the  nations  may  acknowledge  God,  bow  themselves  to 
his  authority,  and  make  his  will  the  rule  of  their  government. 
This  is  the  meaning  of  the  song  :  For  all  nations  shall  come 
and  worship  before  thee — and  this  they  will  do  in  consequence 


36  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

of  the  judgments  by  which  God  will  speak  to  them  in  that 
day. 

6.  And  after  that  I  looked,  and,  hehold,  the  temjple  of  the 
tabernacle  of  the  testimony  in  heaven  was  opened  : 

6.  And  the  seven  angels  came  out  of  the  temple,  having  the 
seven  plagues,  clothed  in  pure  and  white  linen,  and  having  their 
breasts  girded  with  golden  girdles. 

7.  And  one  of  the  four  beasts  gave  unto  the  seven  angels  seven 
golden  vials  full  of  the  wrath  of  God,  who  liveth  for  ever  and 
ever. 

8.  And  the  temple  urns  filled  with  smoke  from  the  glory  of 
God,  and  from  his  power  ;  and  no  man  was  able  to  enter  into 
the  temple,  till  the  seven  plagues  of  the  seven  angels  were  fulfilled. 

After  the  sea  of  glass,  the  prophet  proceeds  to  speak  of 
other  remarkable  features  of  this  vision. 

He  saw  the  temple  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  testimony  in 
heaven,- o^cTic^/  This  corresponds  with  the  disclosure  of  the 
last  verse  of  the  eleventh  chapter,  describing  the  scenes  of 
the  seventh  trumpet,  and  confirms  what  had  been  previously 
said :  that  the  wine-press  and  the  sea  of  glass  have  their 
fulfillment  in  the  seventh  trumpet  age. 

Yery  little  remains  to  be  said  respecting  this  notice  of  the 
temple,  as.it  has  been  treated  upon  in  the  eleventh  chapter. 

But  as  it  is  now  referred  to  by  the  prophet,  in  connection 
with  the  scenes  of  the  present  vision,  we  must  suppose  that 
he  means  to  make  other  suggestions  from  it. 

As  this  period  now  under  consideration  is  emphatically  a 
time  of  judgments,  inflicted  upon  the  wicked,  the  tabernacle 
of  the  testimony  being  open,  may  be  designed  to  show  that  it 
is  God,  now  speaking  to  the  nations,  and  not  men ;  and  to 
do  away  with  the  belief  which  still  clings  to  the  religious 
faith  of  popish  nations,  that  the  bulls  and  anathemas  of  the 
Pope  are  the  judgments  most  to  be  dreaded.  But  the  tem- 
ple of  the  tal)ernacle  of  the  testimony  being  open,  signifies 
that  it  is  God,  and  not  men,  who  is  now  present  and  speak- 
ing with  the  nations. 


CHAPTER  Xy.  3"^ 

Under  tlic  Israelltish  economy,  when  the  door  of  the  taber- 
nacle was  open,  all  the  people  knew  that  God  was  speaking 
with  Moses,  and  they  awaited  with  solemn  awe  the  result  of 
the  Divine  communication.  The  presence  of  God  with  the 
people  was  expressed  by  the  open  tabernacle  then,  and  the 
open  temple  seen  by  the  prophet  signifies  the  same  thing. 

Out  of  this  open  temple  the  seven  angels  came.  They 
are  appointed  to  fulfill  the  wrath  of  God  in  executing  his 
judgments  in  the  last  day.  They  are  connected  with  the 
Christian  economy ;  they  fulfill  and  complete  its  great  scheme 
of  redemption. 

The  prophet  is  particular  in  describing  the  dress  of  these 
angels,  not  to  gratify  idle  curiosity,  or  to  excite  vain  admira- 
tion, but  to  show  that  the  judgments  which  they  are  repre- 
sented as  pouring  out,  are  a  necessary  part  of  the  -perfect  and 
righteous  government  of  God  over  men.  Truth  and  righte- 
ousness are  the  fundamental  principles  of  Christianity  ;  and 
these  are  designated  by  the  purity  of  the  white  linen  and 
golden  girdles  which  the  angels  wore. 

One  of  the  four  beasts  is  represented  as  giving  the  vials 
of  the  wrath  of  God  to  the  seven  angels.  This  judgment  age 
will  begin  to  develop  where  the  religion  of  Christ  has  been 
most  opposed,  and  where  his  people  have  suffered  the  severest 
persecutions  from  the  enemies  of  God.  This  is  in  Europe. 
There  has  been  the  great  struggle  which  Christianity  has 
maintained  with  the  principalities  and  powers  of  darkness 
and  superstition,  and  with  wickedness  in  high  places,  asso- 
ciated with  and  upholding  the  claims  of  spiritual  Babylou 
to  universal  dominion.  Giving  the  vials  of  wrath  to  the 
seven  angels,  is  the  same  as  giving  evidence,  that  these  pecu- 
liar judgments  have  begun  to  be  poured  out  upon  the  ene- 
mies of  God — the  angels  have  entered  upon  the  work  of 
gathering  out  of  Christendom  all  things  that  offend. 

A  more  vivid  description  of  the  sensible  presence  of  Jeho- 
vah, as  it  will  be  known  in  that  day  of  judgment,  is  given  in 
the  following  verse  : 


38  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

8.  And  the  temjph  was  filled  with  smoke  from  the  glory  of 
God,  and  from  his  power  ;  and  no  man  was  able  to  enter  into 
the  temple,  till  the  seven  plagues  of  the  seven  angels  were  ful- 
filled. 

This  representation  is  taken  from  the  scenes  of  the  ancient 
tabernacle  and  the  dedication  of  Solomon's  temple.  (See 
Exodus,  xl.  chap.  34,  35  ;  and  1  Kings,  viii.  chap.  10  and  11 
verses.) 

The  temple  and  the  tabernacle  were  covered  and  filled 
by  the  cloud,  and  with  the  power  and  glory  of  God,  in  a 
manner  so  overwhelming  that  the  priests  could  not  stand  to 
minister  in  the  temple  because  of  the  cloud  ;  for  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  had  filled  the  house  of  the  Lord.  In  like  manner 
the  cloud  covered  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation ;  so  that 
Moses  was  not  able  to  enter  into  it  because  the  cloud  abode 
thereon,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  filled  the  tabernacle. 

The  solemn  awe  with  which  Moses  and  the  priests  were 
effected  in  sight  of  those  symbols  of  the  divine  presence,  kept 
them  from  entering  into  the  tabernacle  and  the  temples;  nor 
did  the  camp  of  Israel  move  forward  at  all  until  the  cloud 
was  lifted  up  from  off"  the  tabernacle. 

The  temple  which  the  prophet  presents  to  our  view  is  filled 
with  the  glory  of  God  and  with  smoke — the  smoke  cor- 
responding with  the  cloud  of  the  Jewish  temple. 

The  purpose  of  this  representation  seems  to  be  to  impress 
all  minds  with  the  conviction  that  God  alone  is  the  actor  in 
the  scenes  of  the  seven  vials.  All  human  power  stands  in 
silent  awe  before  the  wonderful  works  of  the  Almighty,  and 
seems  to  say,  in  the  language  of  profound  adoration,  the  Lord 
is  in  his  holy  temple ;  let  all  the  earth  keep  silence  before  him. 
No  man  was  able  to  enter  into  the  temple  till  the  seven  plagues 
of  the  seven  angels  were  fulfilled.  This  corroborates  this  view 
of  the  purpose  of  the  temple  figure.  No  strength  or  power 
of  man  could  produce  or  restrain  the  judgments  that  will  be 
witnessed  under  the  seven  vials. 

The  august  presence  of  the  power  and  majesty  of  heaven 


CHAPTER  Xy.  39 

and  earth,  as  it  is  symbolized  by  this  temple,  is  also  celebrated 
in  the  appropriate  strains  of  the  forty-sixth  psalm  :  Come,  he- 
hold  the  works  of  the  Lord,  lohat  desolation  he  hath  made  in  the 
earth  !  He  maketh  wars  to  cease  unto  the  end  of  the  earth  :  he 
hreaketh  the  how  and  cutteth  the  spear  in  sunder  ;  he  hurneth  the 
chariot  in  the  fire.  Be  still,  and  know  that  I  am  God  :  I  will 
he  exalted  among  the  heathen,  I  will  he  exalted  in  the  earth.  The 
Lord  of  hosts  is  with  us  ;  the  God  of  Israel  is  our  refuge. 

And  again,  in  the  fiftieth  psalm,  there  is  a  similar  celebra- 
tion of  the  appearance  and  grandeur  of  Jehovah  :  Our  God 
shall  come,  and  shall  not  keep  silence  :  a  fire  shall  devour  hefore 
him,  and  it  shall  he  very  tempestuous  round  ahout  him.  He 
shall  call  to  the  heavens  from  above,  and  to  the  earth,  that  he 
may  judge  his  people.  Gather  my  saints  together  unto  me,  those 
that  have  made  a  covenant  icithme  hy  sacrifice.  And  the  heavens 
shall  declare  his  righteousness,  for  God  is  judge  himself.  These 
prophetic  strains  of  the  Psalmist  refer  to  the  seventh  trumpet 
age. 

There  is  another  feature  in  which  the  temple  of  the  pro- 
phet filled  with  smoke  corresponds  with  the  ancient  taberna- 
cle, and  that  is  in  the  paitse  which  the  Israelites  made  when 
the  cloud  descended  upon  the  tabernacle.  They  remained  in 
their  camp,  and  journeyed  not  until  the  cloud  was  lifted  up 
from  off  the  tabernacle. 

I  have  already  described  the  period  now  before  us  as  being 
beyond  the  day  of  gospel  effort.  The  gathering  of  the  harvest 
will  have  ended  when  this  period  commences.  Tlie  wine- 
press, the  sea  of  glass  mingled  with  fire,  and  the  temple  filled 
with  smoke,  all  belong  to  this  period. 

This  is  the  silence  in  heaven  of  the  seventh  seal.  Chris- 
tianity, or  the  spiritual  Israel,  pauses  ;  its  efforts  to  gather 
men  to  the  fold  of  Christ  have  ceased  ;  and  the  churcli  stands 
still,  and  in  silence  beholds  the  works  of  the  Lord.  The 
church  will  be  silent  until  the  seven  plagues  of  the  seven  an- 
gels are  fulfilled.  Then  the  cloud,  or  the  smoke,  will  be  lifted 
off  the  temple,  when  the  Church  of  Christ  will  move  forward 


40  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

again  ;  not  as  she  has  journeyed  hitherto,  bufifeted  by  her 
adversaries,  and  struggling  with  powerful  enemies,  but  she 
will  move  to  her  appointed  station,  to  her  heavenly  Canaan. 

Bat  what  is  to  be  done  during  this  state  of  quietude  of 
the  Christian  Church  ?  Much  will  be  done.  The  Almighty 
is  represented  as  sjjeaking  to  heaven  and  earth,  and  com- 
manding them  to  be  still  ;  and  they  shall  know  from  his 
works  which  he  will  then  do  that  he  alone  is  God.  This  is  the 
period  when  the  angel  will  go  forth  and  gather  out  of  Christ's 
kingdom  all  things  that  offend  and  them  which  do  iniquity; 
and  when,  as  the  Psalmist  says,  our  God  shall  come  and  shall 
not  keep  silence  ;  afire  shall  devour  before  him,  [mingling  with 
the  sea  of  glass,]  and  it  shall  he  very  temjpestuous  round  about 
him,  turning  and  overturning  the  nations  that  have  rejected 
his  word  and  despised  his  mercy.  He  will  call  heaven  and 
earth  to  witness  while  he  judges  or  justifies  his  people,  and 
separates  the  vicious  from  the  virtuous ;  vindicating  his  saints 
that  have  made  a  covenant  with  him  by  sacrifice,  and  de- 
nouncing his  wrath  against  those  who  have  hated  his  instruc- 
tion and  cast  his  words  behind  them. 

In  all  this  work  the  church  has  nothing  to  do  ;  this  is  the 
half  hourh  silenoe  in  heaven.  The  cloud  now  rests  upon  her 
tabernacle,  and  she  quietly  and  peacefully  awaits  in  her  camp 
the  issue  of  the  storms  of  wrath  which  shake  and  alarm  the 
nations,  while  God  is  making  a  final  disposition  of  his  and 
her  enemies  through  the  ministration  of  the  seven  angels. 
When  the  seven  plagues  are  fulfilled  the  smoke  will  leave  the 
temple,  the  cloud  will  rise  from  the  tabernacle,  and  the 
church  will  then  move  forward  once  more,  and  will  ascend  to 
her  final  state  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  Come,  ye  blessed  of 
my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world.  Such  will  be  the  glorious  welcome  with 
which  Christ  will  then  introduce  his  saints  into  the  kingdom 
of  God. 


CHAPTEE  XYL 


THE  SEVEN  VIALS. 


We  have  in  this  chapter  the  account  of  the  pouring  out  of 
the  seven  vials.  But  this  is,  as  yet,  in  the  future,  at  least 
as  to  the  final  efforts  of  those  plagues  or  judgments,  which 
are  represented  as  being  poured  out  of  the  vials.  The  final 
effect  may  not  be  clearly  seen  for  a  long  time  after  the  ope- 
ration of  the  causes  which  will  produce  it  have  been  operat- 
ing. It  is  no  one,  direct,  and  instantaneous  act  of  Divine 
Providence  which  is  to  produce  the  result  ascribed  to  each 
vial  ;  but  probably  the  causes  will  begin  in  some  remote  cir- 
cumstance of  small  consequence  in  our  eyes,  and  will  gradu- 
ally produce  effects  of  as  little  notoriety.  But  these  very 
effects  will  themselves  become  the  causes  of  other  and  greater 
effects,  and  in  this  way  the  ultimate  end  of  Providence  will 
be  brought  about.  Just  as  the  stream  which  takes  its  rise 
from  some  obscure  rivulet,  and  meanders  its  way  through  the 
quiet  glen,  gathering,  as  it  goes  here  and  there,  the  number- 
less rills  which  fall  from  the  hill-side,  until  finally  they  swell 
out  into  a  torrent  stream,  forcing  every  impediment,  and 
sweeping  away  every  obstacle. 

Any  attempt  to  explain  fully  the  exact  nature  of  those 
plagues  might  be  justly  regarded  as  presumptuous.  But 
still,  from  what  we  have  already  been  able  to  gather  from 
the  teaching  of  our  Lord,  his  apostles,  and  the  ancient  pro- 
phets, as  well  as  from  profane  history,  we  may  offer  conjec- 
tures that  will  throw  some  light  upon  the  subject. 

The  design  of  these  plagues,  or  judgments,  as  they  are  also 
called,  is  evidently  to  break  down  all  those  institutions  of 


42  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

men  which  propagate  and  perpetuate  ungodliness,  whether 
they  be  civil  or  ecclesiastical  governments,  political  or  social 
systems. 

Nothing  has  served  to  maintain  a  false  religion  in  the 
world  so  much  as  corrupt  and  despotic  power,  whether  that 
power  be  civil  or  ecclesiastic.  In  proof  of  this,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  notice  the  spread  and  prosperity  of  the  Christian 
religion  where  the  people  enjoy  civil  liberty,  freedom  of 
thought,  and  the  free  exercise  of  religious  liberty. 

The  overthrow  of  all  such  institutions  as  obstruct  the  pure 
light  of  the  gospel,  and  to  punish  those  who  obstinately  ad- 
here to  them,  is  the  work  of  this  great  day  of  judgment. 

1.  And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  the  temple  saying  to  the 
seven  angels,  Go  your  ways,  and  pour  out  the  vials  of  the  wrath 
of  God  upon  the  earth. 

2.  And  the  first  went,  and  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  earth  ; 
and  there  fell  a  noisome  and  grievous  sore  upon  the  men  which 
had  the  mark  of  the  beast,  and  upo7i  them  which  worshiped  his 
image. 

3.  And  the  second  angel  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  sea  ; 
and  it  became  as  the  blood  of  a  dead  man :  and  every  living  soul 
died  in  the  sea. 

The  first  verse  assures  us  that  these  plagues  are  appointed 
by  God  alone.  The  angels  are  commanded  by  a  great  voice 
out  of  the  temple,  to  go  their  ways  and  pour  out  the  vials  of 
the  wrath  of  God.  God  was  in  the  temple,  and  it  was  there- 
fore his  voice  that  gave  this  command. 

The  first  angel  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  earth.  The 
term  earth  distinguishes  mere  civil  or  political  governmcut 
from  that  which  is  ecclesiastic,  or,  as  it  is  frequently  called, 
heavenly.  Those  civil  governments  are  first  struck,  as  being 
the  chief  supporters  of  a  corrupt  and  antichristian  religion. 

The  plague  of  this  first  vial  consisted  in  a  noisome  and 
grievous  sore,  that  fell  upon  the  men  which  had  the  mark  of 
the  beast,  and  upon  them. which  worsliii)ped  his  image.  This 
sufficiently  indicates  that  the  sufferers  under  the  first  vial  are 


CHAPTER  xvr.  43 

to  be  chiefly  the  po\\'ers  of  Europe  that  support  the  temporal 
power  of  popery  and  its  image. 

A  noisome  and  grievous  sore  implies  a  condition  of  painful 
and  vexatious  irritation,  and  fitly  represents  those  insurrec- 
tions and  revolutions  which  break  out  upon  the  body  politic, 
and  either  entirely  destroy  it  or  totally  purge  its  constitu- 
tional corruption.  These  governments,  then,  will  be  either 
quite  destroyed,  or  their  religious  principle  will  be  entirely 
changed,  and  they  will  not  only  cease  to  uphold  the  old  cor- 
rupt politico-religious  system  of  Popery,  but  will  become  its 
armed  enemies,  and  will  burn  it  with  fire,  as  the  prophet  has 
before  said  in  speaking  of  the  ten  horns  of  the  great  beast. 

T'he  second  angel  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  sea,  which  be- 
came as  the  blood  of  a  dead  man,  and  every  living  soul  died  in 
the  sea. 

Most  commentators  have  considered  this  as  a  visitation 
upon  some  maritime  power,  and  explain  its  allusion  by  the 
destruction  of  the  Spanish  Armada.  But  the  sea,  like  every- 
thing else  in  this  vision,  is  spoken  of  in  a  figurative  sense,  and 
any  attempt  to  apply  a  literal  meaning  must  utterly  fail  to 
give  the  true  import  of  the  text. 

The  subject  upon  which  the  second  vial  is  poured  out 
is,  like  the  sea,  immense  in  its  extent ;  reaching  as  the  sea 
does,  from  continent  to  continent.  This  is  the  meaning  of  the 
sea,  as  used  here  ;  and  how  very  appropriate  the  figure  is, 
will  appear,  when  we  consider  that  the  papal  religion,  which 
is  the  subject  represented,  did,  formerly,  not  only  cover  all 
Europe,  but  by  the  indefatigable  labors  of  the  Jesuits,  was 
extended  to  every  continent  on  the  globe.  The  sea  became 
as  the  blood  of  a  dead  man!  Wlien  the  blood  has  lost  its 
vitality,  it  is  no  longer  capable  of  supporting  the  functions 
of  life,  and  the  body  dies  ;  and  because  the  sea  became  as 
the  blood  of  a  dead  man,  every  living  soul  died  in  the  seal 

A  great  multitude  and  variety  of  functionaries,  spiritual 
and  temporal :  popes,  cardinals,  bishops,  monks  and  priests, 
of  every  order  and  degree,  have  their  life  in  this  sea,  and 


44  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

when  Popery  loses  its  influence  over  men,  and  can  no  lon- 
g-er  command  the  obedience  of  the  people,  then  these  will 
be  of  no  more  worth  in  the  estimation  of  the  world,  than 
were  the  dead  fish  of  the  Nile,  when  its  waters  were  turned 
to  blood  by  the  judgment  upon  Egypt.  All  these  function- 
aries will  then  die.  Popery  having  lost  its  vitality  will  no 
longer  be  capable  of  supporting  their  existence. 

The  resemblance  between  this  sea,  in  the  effects  that 
result  from  its  becoming  as  the  blood  of  a  dead  man  ;  and 
the  river  Nile,  after  it  was  changed  into  blood  by  God's, 
judgment  upon  Egypt,  is  very  striking. 

The  Nile  had  always  been  an  object  of  religious  venera- 
tion with  the  idolatrous  Egyptians,  on  account  of  the  refresh- 
ing and  delicious  qualities  of  its  waters.  But  after  it  became 
blood  and  all  the  fish  in  it  died,  and  stank  upon  the  shore, 
the  river  was  then  converted  into  an  object  of  loathing  to 
those  who  before  had  worshiped  it  ;  they  now  hated  the 
sight  of  it  and  turned  from  it  with  disgust. 

This  plague  upon  the  waters  of  Egypt,  in  this  respect  too, 
corresponds  with  the  effects  produced  upon  the  sea  by  the 
plague  of  the  second  vial.  The  whole  papal  economy  will 
fall  and  the  ten  horns,  or  kingdoms,  which  before  had  upheld 
it — had  worshiped  the  beast  and  his  image — the  prophet 
tells  us  in  another  place,  turned  with  hatred  from  their  former 
object  of  worship,  and  burned  it  with  lire.  This  will  be  the 
end  of  the  second  vial. 

4.  And  the  third  angel  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  rivers 
and  fountains  of  waters ;  and  they  became  Mood. 

5.  And  I  heard  the  angel  of  the  waters  say,  Thou  art  righ- 
teous, O  Lord,  which  art,  and  wast,  and  shall  he,  because  thou 
hast  judged  thus : 

6.  For  they  have  shed  the  blood  of  saints  and  prophets,  and 
thou  hast  given  them  blood  to  drink  ;  for  they  are  worthy. 

7.  And  I  heard  another  out  of  the  altar  say.  Even  so,  Lord 
God  Almighty,  true  and  righteous  are  thy  judgments. 


CHAPTER  XYI.  45 

The  third  angel  poured  out  his  vial  in  the  fountains  and 
rivers. 

Rivers  and  fountains  are  the  scriptural  emblems  of  the 
grace  and  mercy  of  the  gospel  system,  and  they  are  used 
here  to  designate  those  countries,  in  which  the  Reformation 
took  its  rise. 

A  fountain  is  the  source,  or  first  breaking  forth  of  waters; 
the  river,  is  its  increase,  or  enlargement.  Both  France  and 
Germany  are  embraced  in  this  designation.  In  France  the 
first  murmurs  were  heard,  which,  at  first,  grew  into  loud  and 
decided  reprobation  of  the  errors  of  Popery.  The  Albigenscs 
were  the  fountain,  which  first  bubbled  up  in  France  ;  and 
speedily  met  with  the  usual  modes  of  popish  discipline  iu 
that  day,  to  suppress  it. 

In  Germany,  the  Reformation,  under  Luther,  became  a 
river,  which  so  increased  in  depth  and  force,  that  even  in  the 
days  of  Charles  Y.  it  swept  away  half  of  Germany  from  the 
Romish  faith,  and  extended  the  Protestant  religion  into 
other  countries.  The  subject  of  the  Reformation  has  already 
had  full  notice,  and  nothing  further  need  be  said  in  relation 
to  it  ;  it  is  adverted  to  now,  merely  to  show  tiie  application 
of  the  figure  of  the  fountains  and  rivers. 

I  consider  that  France  and  Germany  are  the  countries  re- 
ferred to  under  the  third  vial  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  their 
political  institutions  are  chiefly  referred  to.  The  same  mark 
of  Divine  reprobation  as  that  which  was  made  upon  the  sea, 
under  the  second  vial,  applies  to  them  ; — they  will  become 
Mood !  denoting  utter  worthlessness. 

The  mysticism  of  German  theology,  and  the  infidelity  of 
France,  will  become  hateful  even  to  those  who  once  held, 
them  in  the  highest  esteem.  The  prophet  heard  the  angel 
of  the  waters,  by  which  we  understand  the  spirit  and  the 
doctrines  of  true  religion  ;  and  a  voice  out  of  the  altar — the 
prayers  of  the  righteous',  uttering  a  solemn  approval  of  the 
judgment  :  pronouncing  it  just  and  righteous,  for  the  reason, 
in  that  they  had  shed  the  blood  of  saints  and  prophets,  and 


46  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

thou  hast  given  them  blood  to  drink!  This,  in  a  literal  sense 
might  be  justly  charged  upon  France  and  Germany,  since 
Protestant  blood  was  made  to  flow  no  where  so  freely  as  in 
those  two  countries.  But  this  would  be  giving  a  literal  in- 
terpretation to  the  words  of  the  prophet,  which  I  do  not 
think  would  be  consistent  with  his  meaning. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  it  was  the  fountains  and  rivers 
themselves,  that  this  vial  was  poured  out  upon  ;  and  as  if  to 
guard  us  against  such  a  conclusion,  the  angel  of  the  waters 
declares,  that  the  nations  alluded  to  by  these  emblems,  had 
been  guilty  of  shedding  the  blood  of  saints  and  prophets. 
The  true  scriptural  meaning  of  shedding  blood  is,  taking 
aicay  life !  The  precepts  and  doctrines  which  the  early 
saints  and  prophets,  or  teachers  of  the  Reformation  had  given 
to  those  nations,  were  cast  away,  or  had  become  so  mixed 
up  with  mysticism  and  infidelity,  as  to  be  utterly  worthless. 
They  had  killed,  as  far  as  they  could,  the  true  religion  taught 
them  by  the  zealous  Albigenses,  and  the  preaching  and  writ- 
ings of  the  German  reformers,  and  had  substituted,  in  place 
of  these,  unscriptural  and  anti-christian  doctrines.  Having 
thus  thrown  away  the  water  of  life,  after  they  had  enjoyed 
its  blessings,  and  adopted  the  corrupting  waters  of  a  mys- 
tical and  infidel  religion,  it  is  declared  a  true  and  righteous 
judgment  to  give  them  blood  to  drink,  for  they  are  worthy 
of  such  judgments.  The  history  of  these  two  countries,  for 
the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  looks  very  much  as  if  they  were 
under  the  third  vial. 

A  nation  can  no  more  separate  itself  from  the  effects  of  its 
religion,  than  an  individual  can  avoid  the  consequences  of 
his  own  vicious  habits.  A  spurious  and  corrupt  religion 
will  involve  a  nation  in  such  crimes  as  God  always  has,  and 
always  must  punish.  The  infidelity  and  mysticism  which 
have  turned  a  pure  Christianity  out  of  France  and  Germany, 
will  ever  keep  those  nations  under  the  judgments  of  the 
Almighty. 

When  judgments  are  employed  as  correctives,  and  are  in- 


CHAPTER  XVI.  47 

tended  to  draw  nations  from  their  errors,  they  are  generally 
mild,  being  mixed  with  mercy ;  but  the  judgments  of  the 
great  day,  when  the  wrath  of  God  will  be  revealed  from 
heaven  against  all  unrighteousness,  £^nd  the  seven  last  plagues 
which  will  be  fulfilled,  are  not  those  judgments  that  are  mingled 
with  mercy  ;  but  are  such  as  the  apostle  describes  in  the 
tenth  chapter  of  Hebrews,  26th  and  27th  verses,  where  he 
refers  to  just  such  cases  as  those  under  consideration  :  For 
if  we  sin  wilfully  after  that  we  have  received  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth,  there  remaineth  no  more  sacrifice  for  sins  ;  hut  a  cer- 
tain fearful  looking  for  of  judgment  and  fiery  indignation, 
which  will  devour  the  adversaries.  When  such  judgments  are 
seen  in  the  earth  they  will  indicate  the  period  of  the  third 
vial. 

The  fourth  vial  is  poured  out  upon  the  sun.  Under  the 
sixth  seal,  I  have  given  my  reasons  for  considering  the  sun 
to  be  the  symbol  of  England.  Pouring  out  this  vial  upon 
the  sun,  designates  the  power  that  will  be  conspicuous  as  the 
instrument  in  carrying  out  the  plague  of  this  vial.  It  does 
not  say  that  the  sun  was  injuriously  affected  by  this  vial 
being  poured  out  upon  it,  but  that  it  had  power  given  unto 
it  to  scorch  men  with  fire. 

I  understand  this  vial  to  signify,  that  England  will  become 
the  instrument  in  the  providence  of  God,  of  inflicting  some 
political  judgment  upon  the  powers  opposed  to  the  Protest- 
ant religion.  Such  an  event  may  be  brought  about  by  the 
persevering  efforts  of  the  Pope,  to  establish  in  England  and 
other  Protestant  countries,  some  hierarchal  authority  over 
the  subjects  of  those  governments.  Efforts  of  this  kind, 
persevered  in  by  Popery,  would  probably  lead  to  a  coun- 
teracting policy  amongst  Protestant  nations,  even  to  the 
length  of  banishing  the  authority  of  the  Pope  from  those 
countries.  In  this  way,  men  would  be  scorched  with  great 
heat. 

Aggravated  by  such  defeats,  they  are  represented  in  the 
agony  of  their  disappointment,  as  blaspheming  the  name  of 


48  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

God,  which  hath  power  over  these  plagues.  Showing  that 
the  subjects  of  this  scorching,  will  be  a  people  who  held  the 
doctrine  of  God's  punitive  judgments  upon  men.  And  they 
repented  not  to  give  Him  glory.  They  still  maintained  their 
principles  in  defiance  of  what  they  suffered,  and  which  they 
acknowledged  to  be  the  judgment  of  God  upon  them.  This 
vial  is  in  the  future. 

The  fifth  angel  poured  out  his  vial  ujpon  the  scat  of  the 
least  ;  and  his  kingdom  teas  full  of  darkness. 

There  are  only  two  beasts  referred  to  in  the  Apocalypse, 
after  the  four  described  in  the  fourth  chapter.  Those  two 
are  the  beast  with  seven  heads  and  ten  horns,  and  the  two- 
horned  beast,  already  described. 

I  consider  the  beast  alluded  to,  under  the  fifth  vial,  to  be 
the  two-horned  beast,  or  the  temporal  sovereignty  of  the  pope- 
dom. For,  although  the  universal  dominion  claimed  by  Gre- 
gory yil.  continued  only  666  years,  the  Pope  is  still  a  tem- 
poral prince,  possessing  and  exercising  temporal  sovereignty 
in  Italy,  as  other  princes  do  in  their  kingdoms.  In  this 
sense  only,  and  not  in  a  religious  sense,  does  the  term  least 
apply  to  the  popedom. 

The  seat  of  the  beast  then,  is  the  whole  extent  of  his 
temporal  dominion.  The  fifth  vial  will  be  poured  out  upon 
his  political,  or  secular  interests.  This  view  accords  with 
what  is  said  in  the  27  chap.  :  16  :  And  the  ten  horns  ichich 
thou  sawest  upon  the  beast,  these  shall  hate  the  whore,  and  shall 
make  her  desolate  and  naked,  and  shall  eat  her  flesh  and  burn 
her  with  fire.  Takii;ig  these  terms  in  their  natural  significa- 
tion, they  are  more  applicable  to  the  destruction  of  temporal 
than  ecclesiastical  interests. 

The  ten  horns  are,  undoubtedly,  political  powers,  and 
when  they  resolve  to  put  an  end  to  the  Pope's  temporal 
sovereignty,  from  whatever  motives  of  policy,  it  will  fill  his 
kingdom  with  darkness.  It  will  disorganize  the  whole  sys- 
tem, and  throw  it  into  confusion.  The  chagrin  and  mortifi- 
cation of  a  measure  so  humiliating  to  the  pride  of  the  Rom- 


CIIxiriER  XYI.  49 

ish  hierarchy  are  expressed  hi  this  strong  language  :  And 
they  gnawed  their  tongues  for  pain,  and  blasphemed  the  God  of 
heaven  because  of  their  pains  and  their  sores. 

But  although  they  will  be  driven  out  of  the  strong  posi- 
tion they  held  by  their  temporal  power,  yet  they  will  hold 
on  to  their  ecclesiastical  system  ;  they  will  struggle  to  keep 
up  the  church,  although  they  are  stript  of  their  worldly 
power  :  they  repented  not  of  their  deeds.  But  it  is  not  likely 
that  a  church  which  has  from  its  first  rise,  been  sustained  by 
its  connexion  with  temporal  power,  will  long  survive  a  separa- 
tion from  it.  We  shall  see  in  a  future  chapter  that  it  will 
not.  The  blow  received  from  the  circumstances  of  the  fifth 
vial,  so  shattered  its  power  that  the  whole  system  finally 
dies  from  the  effects  of  it  :  Every  living  soul  died  in  the  sea 
when  it  became  as  the  blood  of  a  dead  man.  This  will  be  the 
final  result  of  the  fifth  vial. 

The  entire  course  of  this  vial  will  be  political ;  and, 
amongst  the  circumstances  which  will  mark  its  progress,  will 
probably  be  measures  of  policy  adopted  by  Protestant  coun- 
tries, to  rid  themselves  of  the  interference  of  a  foreign  power, 
which,  although  ecclesiastical,  may  be  found  exerting  a  dan- 
gerous political  influence. 

The  doctrine  that  the  Pope  is  the  spiritual  head  of  the 
whole  church  on  earth,  requires  the  presence  of  his  power  and 
authority,  in  the  person  of  some  one  or  more  of  his  various 
functionaries,  wdierever  the  Catholic  Church  exists  ;  and,  if 
the  exercise  of  such  power  and  authority  was  not  permitted 
in  Protestant  countries — if  ecclesiastical  functionaries,  de- 
riving their  authority  from,  and  holding  allegiance  to,  a  for- 
eign power,  should  not  be  tolerated  in  countries  not  under 
the  spiritual  dominion  of  the  Pope,  how  soon  his  kingdom 
would  be  filled  with  darkness  !  Something  will  be  done  in 
the  course  of  the  fifth  vial  that  will  aggravate  and  afflict 
that  church,  even  to  the  gnaiving  their  tongues  for  pain. 

But  whatever  those  measures  may  be  that  will  agonize  the 
papal  power,  the  prophet  informs  us  that  they  will  not  have 

VOL.  II. — 3 


50  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

the  effect  of  changing  or  purifying  its  religion.  They  blas- 
jphemed  the  God  of  heaven,  because  of  their  pains  and  their  sores, 
and  repented  not  of  their  deeds. 

The  conclusion,  I  think,  is  unavoidable  from  the  text,  that 
papal  power,  under  the  fifth  vial,  will  become  very  much  re- 
stricted in  its  authority  and  limited  in  its  existence. 

We  shall  see  in  the  events  which  some  of  the  succeeding 
chapters  unfold,  how  wonderfully  that  church,  which  once 
ruled  all  Christendom,  will  be  reduced  and  brought  down  by 
the  acts  of  those  very  kingdoms,  and  how  deeply  it  will  be 
made  to  drink  of  the  bitter  cup  which  it  once  pressed  to  the 
lips  of  Protestantism  ;  but  not  in  the  same  spirit  of  bigotry 
and  bloody  violence  which  it  practiced, — this  would  be  re- 
pugnant to  the  Protestant  religion  ;  but  in  the  total  loss  of 
the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  powers  of  Christendom,  ex- 
pressed in  the  utter  rejection  of  the  faith  and  worship  of  the 
Romish  Church.     (See  chapter  eighteen.) 

SIXTH  VIAL. 
THE  END  OF  THE  OTTOMAN  EMPIRE  I 

Following  up  the  series  of  events  which  mark*thc  progress 
of  time  and  illustrate  the  page  of  prophacy,  we  come  now  to 
consider  one  which,  in  its  consequences,  will  reach  and  effect 
almost  all  nations  of  the  earth,  while  it  cannot  fail  to  impart 
a  thrill  of  joy  to  every  Christian's  heart. 

The  scenes  of  this  vial  are  not  connected  with  any  elements 
of  terror  and  violence.  There  is  no  fire  nor  blood  mentioned 
as  the  concomitants  of  this  plague.  A  great  change  is  effected 
without  the  interference  of  any  of  those  agents  of  terror  and 
commotion  :  it  is  the  gradual  and  final  extinction  of  the  Ot- 
toman Empire. 

The  Turks  drove  the  Christians  from  Jerusalem,  and 
planted  the  crescent  on  its  ramparts  and  its  temples.  The 
land  of  Judea  and  all  Palestine  fell  under  their  dominion,  and 


CHAPTER  XVI.  51 

at  a  later  period  they  pushed  their  victorious  arms  into  Eu- 
rope by  the  conquest  of  Constantinople. 

All  Europe  was  struck  with  dismay,  and  was  in  constant 
dread  of  these  invaders.  Their  ferocity  was  equalled  by  their 
indomitable  courage  ;  and  wherever  the  scimeter  was  un- 
sheathed, humanity  aiforded  no  protection  against  the  vio- 
lence and  horrors  of  their  sanguinary  warfare. 

Christianity  was  the  scorn  of  the  Turk,  and  the  Jew  was 
no  less  the  object  of  his  brutal  animosity.  And  yet  this 
power,  with  all  its  fearful  might  and  merciless  passions,  is 
to  pass  away  and  disappear,  like  the  dreaded  icebergs  when 
they  dissolve  under  the  genial  influence  of  a  temperate  zone. 

This  vial  is  poured  out  on  the  great  river  Euphrates,  and 
its  waters  were  dried  up.  How  simple  and  how  quiet  is  the 
l^rogress  of  this  great  change  ! 

The  reasons  for  considering  the  Euphrates  as  the  emblem 
of  the  Turkish  Empire  have  been  already  assigned. 

The  successful  marches  and  rapid  conquests  of  the  Turks 
left  them  no  reason  to  distrust  the  invincibility  with  which 
fanaticism  had  covered  their  arms.  The  boasted  superiority 
of  their  religion  over  the  religion  of  all  other  people,  and 
their  national  pride,  which  led  them  to  scorn  and  despise  all 
who  did  not  embrace  the  koran,  were  the  chief  causes  of  their 
ferocious  and  sanguinary  principles  of  warfare. 

But  this  proud  disdain  of  all  Christendom  began  to  be 
checked  by  occasional  victories  obtained  over  them,  and  they 
were  finally  subdued  and  tamed  by  the  battle  of  Navarino, 
where  their  powerful  fleet  was  entirely  lost,  their  ships  were 
burned,  sunk,  and  captured,  and  this  great  arm  of  their  war- 
like achievements  was  irretrievably  broken. 

This  blow  had  the  effect  of  humbling  the  proud  temper  of 
the  Turk,  and  brought  him  to  regard  Christian  nations  in  a 
more  favorable  light.  It  led  also  to  intercourse  and  com- 
mercial relations  with  the  European  powers,  and  ultimately 
obligations  of  a  more  friendly'nature  towards  other  nations 
assumed  the  form  of  treaties. 


52  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

This  commercial  intercourse  with  other  powers  has  worn 
off  to  a  great  extent  the  ferocious  temper  of  Turkish  pride, 
and,  by  bringing  them  to  a  better  acquaintance  with  the  rest 
of  Europe  and  America,  has  at  the  same  time  showai  them 
their  great  inferiority  to  ahnost  all  other  nations,  and  has 
produced  that  conviction,  spoken  of  by  traders  as  being  en- 
tertained by  the  Turks,  ''  that  their  empire  is  destined,  ere 
*'  long,  to  utter  and  inevitable  dissolution."  In  the  language 
of  the  prophet,  the  great  river  w^ill  l)e  dried  up. 

This  drying  up  of  the  Euphrates  has  been  going  on  rapidly 
and  sensibly  to  the  eye  of  the  observant  politician  for  the  last 
twenty-five  years  ;  and  indeed  nothing  has  delayed  its  entire 
evaporation  but  the  use  that  other  powers  of  Europe  have 
made  of  Turkey  to  preserve  the  balance  of  power.  So  soon 
as  she  is  no  longer  necessary  as  a  make-weight  in  the  great 
scale  of  European  politics,  she  will  sink  under  the  paralysis 
of  her  ow^n  enervating  and  debasing  religion. 

The  drying  up  of  this  river  will  be  an  event  of  vast  con- 
sequence to  the  world,  in  a  moral  and  political  view,  even  if 
it  stood  alone  ;  but  that  which  is  to  follow  it,  and  to  w'hicli 
it  is  only  introductory,  is  the  subject  which  will  fill  the  world 
with  amazement,  and  all  Christendom  with  joy.  The  design 
of  drying  up  this  river  is,  that  the  ways  of  the  Kings  of  the 
East  may  he  prepared;  or,  in  simple  and  direct  terms,  without 
the  use  of  metaphor — that  the  way  may  be  opened  for  the 
return  of  the  Jews  to  the  land  of  their  ancestors  I 

Whoever  has  attentively  perused  the  prophetic  writings 
of  the  Jewish  scriptures,  could  not  have  failed  to  be  struck 
with  the  frequent,  clear  and  joyful  annunciations  of  this 
event,  by  the  several  prophets  of  the  Jewish  Church.  Our 
prophet  glances  at  it  as  a  circumstance  connected  with  the 
drying  up  of  the  great  river,  and  then  retires  from  the  sub- 
ject, as  if  he  said  :  "  Their  own  prophets  have  fully  jiro- 
"  claimed  this  grand  event,  and  I  can  add  nothing  to  the 
"  vivid  and  magnificent  imagery  in  which  they  have  presented 
"  it."    We  shall,  therefore,  take-  leave  of  our  prophet  for  a 


CHAPTER  XVI,  53 

short  season,  and  follow  his  elder  brethren,  in  their  prophetic 
description  of  this  glorious  recovery  of  God's  ancient  people. 

THE    RESTORATION    OF    THE    JEWS. 

The  term  kings,  as  employed  to  distinguish  those  whose 
way  is  prepared  by  the  drying  up  of  the  waters  of  the  great 
river  Euphrates,  is  not  intended  to  convey  the  idea  of  posi- 
tive royalty.  It  does  not  mean  persons  who  wear  the  crown 
or  wield  the  sceptre  of  empire  ;  it  is  employed  to  express 
quality,  or  preeminent  excellence  of  character,  arising  from 
their  former  rank  and  station  in  the  world. 

Taken  in  this  sense,  the  appellation  of  Kings  of  the  East 
will  be  readily  understood,  from  its  correspondence  with  the 
names  or  titles  which  God  himself  and  the  ancient  prophets, 
and  more  recent  apostles,  applied  to  the  Jews  as  a  nation. 
See  Exodus,  19  chap.:  6  :  And  ye  shall  be  unto  me  a  kingdom 
of  friests,  and  an  holy  nation.  Deuteronomy.  Y  and  26  chap.: 
6  and  19:  For  thou  art  an  holy  people  unto  the  Lord  thy  God  ; 
the,  Lord  thy  God  hath  chosen  thee  to  he  a  special  people  unto 
himself,  above  all  people  that  ore  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and 
to  make  thee  high  above  all  nations,  which  he  hath  made,  in 
praise  and  in  name,  and  in  honor.  Jeremiah,  11  chap.  :  3  : 
Israel  was  holiness  unto  the  Lord  and  the  first  fruits  of  his 
increase :  all  that  devour  him  shall  offend  ;  evil  shall  come  upon 
tltem  saith  the  Lord. 

These  are  some  of  the  evidences  taken  from  the  sayings  of 
their  own  prophets,  which  show  the  exalted  station  the  Jew- 
ish nation  held  in  the  estimation  of  God.  As  the  king  is 
superior  to  and  above  all  his  subjects,  so  the  Jews  were  supe- 
rior to  and  above  all  other  nations  of  the  earth.  The  title 
of  Kings  of  the  East  is  in  accordance  with  this  high  rank 
of  national  supremacy,  and  with  the  superior  wisdom  of  the 
people.  The  East,  in  ancient  times,  was  proverbially  the 
seat  of  wisdom.  Wise  men  came  from  the  East  to  pay  suit- 
able honors  to  the  new-born  King  of  the  Jews. 


54  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

The  appellation  of  Royalty,  in  a  spiritual  sense,  is  also  ap- 
plied to  the  Jews,  by  other  writers  in  the  Christian  scriptures 
as  well  as  our  prophet.  St.  Paul  and  St.  Peter  address  them 
as  a  kingdom  of  priests — a  royal  priesthood.  They  stood 
before  the  w^orld  in  the  two-fold  character  of  kings  and  priests, 
and  they  alone,  by  their  superior  wisdom,  could  teach  not 
only  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God,  but  also  the  sound  prin- 
ciples of  good  government,  and  political  economy. 

These  remarkable  people  still  hold  a  title  by  the  immuta- 
ble promise  of  God,  to  the  land  of  their  fathers.  The  cove- 
nant which  God  made  w^ith  Abraham,  and  afterwards  re- 
newed with  Isaac  and  Jacob,  has  been  handed  down  from 
generation  to  generation,  and  their  abiding  faith  in  the  truth 
of  God's  word,  keeps  them  in  anxious  expectation  of  the 
appointed  time  w^hen  they  shall  be  restored  to  their  beloved 
Jerusalem — w^hen  the  long  night  of  their  dispersion  amongst 
all  lands  shall  end — when  the  veil  shall  be  removed,  and  all 
Israel  shall  be  gathered  to  Mount  Zion. 

Every  one  who  reads  the  Bible  must  be  struck  with  the 
deep  solicitude  that  pervades  the  writings  of  St.  Paul,  in 
every  subject  which  concerns  his  kinsmen  after  the  flesh. 

Discoursing  with  the  Gentiles  respecting  the  fall  of  the 
Jews,  he  asks  :  I  say  then,  hath  God  cast  aicay  his  people? 
God  forbid  ;  God  hath  not  cast  away  his  people  whom  he  fore- 
knew. He  admits  that  concerning  the  gospel,  they  were 
enemies  ;  that  is,  by  their  quarrel  with  the  gospel  plan  of 
salvation,  which  had  superceded  their  economy  of  burthen- 
some  ceremonies  ;  they  had  made  themselves  enemies  of 
God,  and  cut  themselves  off  from  their  covenant  blessings 
for  a  while  ;  but  still,  as  touching  the  election,  they  are 
beloved  for  the  Father'' s  sake.  Blindness,  in  part,  is  happened 
to  Israel,  until  the  fullness  of  the  Gentiles  be  come  ;  until 
that  which  caused  them  to  stumble,  will  no  longer  be  a  stum- 
bling block  in  their  way  ;  and  so  (or  then)  all  Israel  shall 
be  saved — be  restored  to  their  ancient  possessions,  and  to 
much  more  than  their  former  glory. 


CHAPTER  XVI.  65 

But  to  return  to  the  Euphrates.  For  centuries  past  and 
down  to  the  present  day,  the  land  of  Canaan  has  been  un- 
der the  dominion  of  Mohammedanism.  The  holy  city  has 
been  trodden  down  by  these  Gentiles.  Everything  sacred 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Christian,  or  dear  to  the  heart  of  the  Jew, 
has  been  the  scorn  of  the  Turk  and  the  object  of  his  disdain. 

Their  implacable  hostility  to  the  Jews,  while  it  remains, 
must  continue  to  obstruct  the  way  of  that  people  to  the  re- 
possession of  their  ancient  home,  and  keep  them  in  their 
scattered  and  oppressed  state  amongst  all  nations. 

The  removal  of  this  ol)stacle  by  the  gradual  waste,  and  the 
final  extinction  of  the  Moslem  power,  and  the  gathering  of 
the  Jews,  are  the  two  great  events  that  are  to  signalise  the 
era  of  the  sixth  vial. 

By  what  particular  means  the  Jews  are  to  obtain  the  pos- 
session of  their  ancient  inheritance,  is  not  even  hinted  at  by 
the  Christian  prophet.  I^o  intimation  of  violence  is  given 
as  the  mode  of  their  return  ;  the  river  will  dry  up  !  it  will 
not  even  be  turned  out  of  its  course,  as  the  river  of  Babylon 
was  by  Cyrus,  by  which  he  obtained  an  easy  conquest  of 
that' great  city. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  the  Turkish  government  will  be- 
come so  much  impoverished  in  its  finances,  and  so  reduced 
and  wasted  in  its  political  strength,  that  it  will  be  induced 
to  sell  that  portion  of  its  dominion  to  the  Jews  ;  vacate 
Judea  for  a  pecuniary  consideration,  and  relinquish  what 
their  poverty  will  no  longer  allow  them  to  hold.  The  pro- 
phet Isaiah,  in  celebrating  the  return  of  his  people,  speaks 
of  their  great  wealth,  showing  that  they  possess  ample  means 
of  securing,  in  this  way,  their  long-forfeited  possessions.  For 
the  abundance  of  their  riches  they  probably,  at  this  time, 
exceed  all  other  people  in  the  world  ;  this  is  a  fact,  which 
the  governments  of  Europe  have,  for  a  long  time  profited  by 
in  the  way  of  immense  loans.  And,  if  the  governments  that 
have  so  cruelly  and  unrighteously  oppressed  and  plundered 


56  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

them,  were  compelled  to  make  restitution,  it  would  be  a  day 
of  unwelcome  reckoning  with  many  of  them. 

But  all  Israel  is  to  be  recovered — God's  word  is  pledged, 
that  he  will  bring  home  his  banished  ones  ;  and  he  will  see 
to  the  means  necessary  to  his  promise.  He  will  not  only  dry 
up  great  rivers,  but  the  great  seas  also,  if  necessary  to  the 
fulfillment  of  his  word. 

But  the  scenes  of  that  day  !  Who  can  adequately  con- 
ceive them  ?  The  strongest  imagination  staggers  under  the 
weight  of  their  sublimity,  and  fails  to  compass  the  grandeur 
of  the  spectacle ! 

In  every  quarter  of  the  world  the  stir  and  the  excitement 
will  be  felt.  The  great  continents  and  the  isles  of  the  sea 
will  shake  with  the  mighty  move  of  the  Jews !  They  will 
pour  down  from  the  mountains  ;  and  they  will  come  up, 
like  the  swell  of  the  ocean,  from  the  cities  and  plains  of 
all  nations. 

Ths  Christian  world  will  hail  with  shouts  of  joy  the  re- 
turn of  the  children  of  Abraham  ;  while  the  Gentiles  will 
gaze  with  astonishment  upon  the  stupendous  scene  of  the 
countless  multitudes  of  Israel,  moving  in  solemn  grandeur 
toward  the  temples  and  tombs  of  their  fathers. 

St.  Paul  dwells  upon  this  event  with  a  glow  of  enthusiastic 
feeling,  very  natural  to  one  as  much  devoted  as  he  was  to  the 
happiness  of  his  countrymen.  He  seems  to  labor  for  terms 
to  express  the  wonders  of  that  scene  ;  but  failing  to  com- 
mand them,  and  as  if  the  grandeur  of  the  subject  had  over- 
come him,  he  can  only  exclaim — What  is  it  but  life  from  the 
dead  !  Isaiah,  in  the  forty-ninth  chapter  of  his  prophecy, 
pours  fourth  a  flood  of  eloquent  and  joyful  declaration,  as 
the  glories  of  this  day  rise  before  his  prophetic  vision. 

The  world-wide  sensations  which  that  «day  will  produce 
cannot  be  conceived.  The  light  of  a  thousand  promises,  like 
distant  stars,  have  for  centuries  twinkled  and  glimmered  in 
the  sky  of  the  Jewish  scriptures,  and  seemed  as  if  they 
would  never  become  larger  ;  now,  all  at  once,  rush  to  one 


CHAPTER  XVI.-  5»7 

common  focus,  and  pour  such  a  flood  of  light  upon  tlie  world 
of  mankind  as  will  make  every  one  see  that  this  is  the  work 
of  God  :  Who  of  old  spoke  and  it  was  done,  He  commanded 
and  it  stood  fast. 

What  will  be  the  amazement  of  the  world  and  the  emotions 
of  God's  elect  when  this  day  arrives — when  the  sun-faced  tele- 
graph will  catch  up  the  cry  of  Isaiah,  and  fling  it  with  light- 
ning speed,  over  thousands  of  wires,  into  all  lands!  Arise, 
shine,  for  thy  light  is  come,  and  the  glory  of  God  is  risen  upon 
thee.  The  Jews  will  recognize  the  voice  of  their  own  prophet, 
and  will  respond  in  the  language  which  he  puts  in  their 
mouth  :  A^id  it  shall  be  said  in  that  day,  Lo,  this  is  onr  God  ; 
we  have  ivaited  for  him  and  he  icill  save  us.  This  is  the  Lord  ; 
we  have  waited  for  him  ;  we  will  he  glad  and  rejoice  in  his  sal- 
vation. 

The  telegraph  will  be  the  ready  mode  of  a  general  corres- 
pondence and  concert  amongst  the  Jews  in  different  lands, 
with  a  view  to  their  setting  out  to  repossess  their  ancient 
homes.  When  they  have  decided  upon  their  measures,  then 
will  the  great  steam-angel,  with  his  feet  of  fire,  walk  over  the 
sea  and  the  continents  with  the  swiftness  of  the  wind,  and 
will  gather  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Abraham  from  the  isles 
of  the  sea,  and  out  of  every  land  whither  they  have  been 
scattered,  and  will  bear  them  away  in  triumph  to  Jerusalem. 

Who,  but  these  people  themselves,  can  appreciate  the  felici- 
ties of  that  occasion  ?  Truly,  this  will  be  a  happiness  that 
a  stranger  meddleth  not  with.  If  I  forget  thee,  O  Jerusalem, 
let  my  right  hand  forget  its  cunning,  is  a  sentiment  instilled  by 
every  pious  Jew  into  the  hearts  of  each  succeeding  genera- 
tion of  their  children  ;  and  as  they  approach  and  gather 
upon  the  mountains  round  about  Jerusalem,  or  move  in 
solemn  procession  over  the  plains  that  spread  out  in  view  of 
her  lofty  spires  and  towered  walls,  they  will  give  full  scope, 
and  swell  to  those  national  feelings  of  religious  veneration 
which  have  preserved  them  a  distinct  race  of  people,  while  the 
great  powers  that  oppressed  and  wronged  them  have  been 

VOL.  II. — 3* 


58  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

lost  from  the  recollection  of  the  Avorld.  The  whole  nation 
will  now  lift  up  its  voice,  in  tones  such  as  earth  never  heard 
before,  in  celebrating  the  grand  event  of  their  restoration,  in 
the  language  of  their  own  royal  bard,  uttered  in  the  forty- 
seventh  psalm  : 

1.  O  dajp  your  hands  all  ye  jpeojple  :  shout  unto  God  with 
the  voice  of  triumph  : 

2.  For  the  Lord  most  high  is  terrible  ;  he  is  a  great  King 
over  all  the  earth. 

3.  He  shall  subdue  the  people  under  us,  and  the  nations  under 
our  feet. 

4.  He  shall  choose  our  inheritance  for  us,  the  excellency  of 
Jacob,  whom  he  loved,  Selah. 

5.  God  is  gone  up  with  a  shout,  the  Lord  with  the  sound  of 
a  trumpet. 

6.  Sing  praises  to  God,  sing  praises  ;  sing  praises  unto  our 
King,  sing  praises. 

t.  For  God  is  the  King  of  all  the  earth :  sing  ye  praises 
with  understanding. 

8.  God  reigneth  over  the  heathen :  God  sitteth  upon  the  throne 
of  his  holiness. 

9.  The  princes  of  the  people  are  gathered  together,  even  the 
people  of  the  God  of  Abraham  :  for  the  shields  of  the  earth  be- 
long unto  God  :  he  is  greatly  exalted. 

Isaiah  occupies  the  same  position  in  the  Jewish  Church 
that  St.  John  does  in  the  Christian  Church,  with  some  differ- 
ence as  to  the  order  of  his  prophecies.  He  does  not  exhibit 
that  connection  and  application  as  to  the  time  of  the  events, 
which  generally  prevail  in  the  announcement  of  the  apoca- 
lypse. 

Isaiah's  prophecies  are  given  more  promiscuously,  and  iu 
only  a  few  cases  can  there  be  discovered  a  regular  chain  of 
connection,  running  through  as  many  as  three  or  four  conse- 
cutive chapters. 

The  spirit  and  design  of  his  luminous  discourses,  however, 


CHAPTER  XYI.  59 

are  already  manifested  in  every  part  of  his  eloquent  and  pow- 
erful writings. 

His  comprehensive  range  of  prophecy  is  not  restricted  to 
the  Jewish  Church,  but,  like  that  of  St.  John's,'  it  is  also  ad- 
dressed to  the  rulers  of  his  people  and  to  the  kingdoms  of 
the  world. 

Isaiah  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  man  of  noble  birth  and 
of  royal  descent.  The  lofty  tone  of  his  discourses,  and  the  un- 
daunted manner  in  which  he  denounces  the  most  fearful  judg- 
ments against  the  wickedness  of  the  rulers  of  his  own  nation, 
show  him  to  have  been  a  man  eminently  endowed  by  nature 
and  by  inspiration  for  the  dignified  and  commanding  position 
which  he  occupied  in  the  Jewish  Church. 

With  what  tenderness  does  he  entreat  his  people  to  walk 
in  the  law  of  their  God,  setting  before  them  the  evils  that 
must  befall  them  if  they  depart  from  his  ways,  and  giving 
vent  to  his  deep  sorrow  on  account  of  the  frequent  apostacy 
of  the  nation  !  He  proclaims  the  severe  chastisements  of 
God  against  their  idolatry  ;  he  utters  the  punishment  of  cap- 
tivity as  the  consequence  of  such  an  offence  in  the  sight  of 
God,  and  shows  them  the  severe  bondage  to  other  nations  to 
which  it  will  inevitably  reduce  them. 

But  he  never  separates  himself  from  the  interests  of  his 
people.  In  his  prophetic  warnings  and  encouragements  he 
goes  with  them  in  their  captivity,  and  consoles  them  with 
hopes  of  deliverance.  He  sits  down  and  weeps  with  them 
by  the  rivers  of  Babylon,  while  the  silent  harp  hangs  upon 
the  pendant  .willow.  His  soul  is  filled  with  anguish  because 
of  the  sufferings  of  his  people,  and  with  indignation  at  the 
mockery  and  contumely  with  which  they  are  treated  by  their 
enemies.  His  noble  spirit,  chafed  and  wounded,  rises  and 
swells  with  indignation  against  the  oppressors.  He  asserts 
the  deliverance  of  his  people — calls  ui)on  them  to  turn  unto 
God,  and  cry  to  the  Most  High  for  help.  He  assures  them 
that  he  who  hath  wounded  will  heal  again,  he  who  hath  bro- 
ken will  bind  again.     Then,  turning  to  their  proud  oppres- 


60  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

sors,  he  flings  the  wrathful  denunciations  of  heaven  in  the 
face  of  Egypt  and  Babylon — those  incorrigible  tyrants  of  the 
earth,  whose  cruel  power  had  crushed  and  ground  his  people 
to  the  very  dust,  and,  in  terms  of  profound  indignation,  he 
dooms  them  to  the  unerring  retribution  of  a  just  and  an 
avenging  God. 

Foreseeing  the  downfall  of  all  these  kingdoms,  that  so 
frequently  oppressed  and  plundered  his  nation,  and  the  re- 
turn of  all  Israel  unto  God,  and  to  the  inheritance  of  their 
fathers,  he  utters  in  strains  of  triumph  the  consummation  of 
their  glory,  in  the  language  of  the  forty-ninth  chapter  of  his 
prophecy.  There  his  full  soul  swells  with  joy,  as  he  pro- 
claims the  unequalled  glories  which  will  distinguish  the 
Jewish  people  on  that  day. 

Before  we  leave  this  subject,  it  will  be  worth  while  to 
hear  this  noble  prophet  of  Israel,  in  the  remarkable  man- 
ner in  which  he  speaks  of  the  various  means  by  which  the 
Jews  will  return  to  their  ancient  possessions.  He  says  : 
Thy  sons  shall  come  from  afar,  and  thy  daughters  shall  he 
nursed  at  tUy  side.  The,  camels  and  the.  dromedaries  shall  cover 
thee,  (these  were  the  means  of  travel  in  the  prophet's  time,) 
and  the  ships  of  Tarshish  shall  bring  thy  sons  from  afar,  S^-c. 
(another  mode  of  travel,  where  the  great  western  sea — the 
Mediterranean — affords  the  opportunity.)  But  still  another 
mode  of  conveyance  passes  before  his  view  in  this  great  pan- 
orama of  a  nation's  emigration,  not  paralleled  by  any  former 
custom  of  travelling  known  to  the  world  ;  and  as  the  prophet 
looks  upon  it,  he  exclaims,  in  the  language  of  surprise:  Who 
are  these  that  fly  as  a  cloud!  and  as  the  doves  to  their  windows ; 
(or  places  of  rest ;)  as  if  he  had  said  :  camels  and  drome- 
daries and  ships,  we  know,  but  what  is  this  ?  moving  like  a 
cloud,  stately  and  swiftly  over  the  face  of  the  waters !  Had 
the  prophet  a  glimpse  of  our  great  ocean-steamers,  which, 
when  enveloped  in  their  smoke  and  steam,  have  very  much 
the  appearance  of  a  cloud  as  it  floats  along  the  face  of  the 
sky  ?     Another  feature  he  describes,  in  this  new  method  of 


CHAPTER  XYI.  61 

travel  :  they  fly  as  doves  to  their  umidoic — alluding,  probably, 
to  that  species  of  the  dove  which  we  call  the  wild  pigeon  ; 
remarkable  for  the  swiftness  of  its  flight,  and  moving  through 
the  air  as  if  without  effort,  in  prodigious  long  lines.  What 
figure  could  be  employed  more  appropriately  than  this,  to 
express  the  long  rail-road  train  of  cars,  and  the  ease  and 
swiftness  with  which  they  fly  over  the  earth  ? 

The  Christian  prophet  gives  a  full  description  of  these 
wonderful  modes  of  travel,  in  the  tenth  chapter  of  the  Keve- 
lations,  and  I  have  no  doubt  they  will  be  chiefly  the  means 
by  which  the  Jews  will  be  transported  to  their  own  country. 
If  so,  this  discovery  of  steam-power  has  in  itself  much  that 
is  prophetic. 

But  it  is  time  for  us  to  resume  the  discourse  of  our  Chris- 
tian prophet.  Having  announced  the  drying  up  of  the  Eu- 
phrates as  an  event  under  the  sixth  vial,  of  the  greatest  mo- 
ment, because  of  what  was  to  follow  it,  he  takes  a  short  re- 
trospect of  the  political  state  of  Christendom,  and  shows  what 
agents  and  influences  have  predominated  over  the  kingdoms 
of  the  earth,  and  the  subjection  they  were  under  to  those 
influences. 

13.  And  I  saw  three  unclean  spirits  like  frogs  come  out  of 
the  mouth  of  the  dragon,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  least,  and 
out  of  the  mouth  of  the  false  prophet. 

14.  For  they  are  the  spirits  of  devils,  working  miracles,  which 
go  forth  unto  the  kings  of  the  earth  and  of  the  tvhole  icorld,  to 
gather  them  to  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God  Almighty. 

15.  ^  Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief  Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth, 
and  keepeth  his  garments,  lest  he  icalk  naked,  and  they  see  his 
shame. 

16.  And  he  gathered  them  together  into  a  place  called  in  the 
Hebrew  tongue  Armageddon. 

These  unclean  spirits,  as  the  prophet  denominates  them, 
had  their  origin  in  three  distinct  sources.  He  represents 
them  as  coming  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  dragon,  and  out  of 
the  mouth  of  the  beast,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  false 


62  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

prophet,  and  by  these  spirits,  acting  sometimes  singly  and  at 
other  times  conjointly,  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  finally  of 
the  whole  world,  are  led,  or  drawn  into  measures  which  ulti- 
mately produced  their  overthrow. 

The  dragon  must  be  regarded,  from  the  history  already 
quoted,  as  nothing  else  but  popery  in  its  persecuting  charac- 
ter. The  beast  is  the  two-horned  beast,  or  popery  in  the 
possession,  or  struggling  to  maintain  the  great  temporal 
power  which  it  held  for  666  years  ;  and  the  false  prophet 
will  be  found  in  the  image  of  the  beast  !  the  most  indefatiga- 
ble teachers  and  propagators  of  the  false  religion,  which  were 
ever  engaged  in  the  service  of  popery.  They  were,  also,  the 
most  unblushing  pretenders  to  miracle-working,  and,  taking 
them  all  together,  the  most  disagreeable  and  pertinacious 
obtruders  into  state  and  domestic  secrets.  They  contrived 
to  become  the  instructors  of  the  noble  and  wealthy  families 
of  Europe,  and  the  confessors  of  kings  and  princes,  as  well 
as  of  all  the  inferior  orders  of  society.  It  is  to  this  particu- 
lar relation  of  intimacy  with  all  classes  of  men,  and  all  orders 
of  government,  which  they  held,  that  the  prophet  refers, 
when  he  says  they  are  like  frogs  I — he  means  the  frogs  of 
Egypt — sent  as  a  judgment  upon  that  land. 

In  the  first  place,  the  frogs  of  Egypt  were  exceedingly 
numerous,  they  were  over  all  the  land,  and  they  were  also 
most  disgustingly  present,  even  in  the  culinary  vessels,  as 
well  as  in  the  kneading  trough  and  the  bed-chamber  !  Their 
pertinacious  obtrusiveness  led  them  into  every  secret  place 
and  apartment  of  domestic  life.  The  resemblance  between 
the  three  spirits  and  the  frogs,  in  this  respect  is  very  strik- 
ing. It  is  found  in  the  intimate  knowledge  with  which  the 
church  may  possess  itself  of  all  domestic  and  state  secrets, 
by  means  of  auricular  confession.  This  is  well  known  to  be 
a  peculiarity  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  by  which  the  priest^ 
may  learn  the  most  important  secrets  of  state,  and  have  it 
iu  his  power  to  defeat  the  profoundest  schemes  of  diploma- 
tic policy.     To  what  other  cause  than  this  can  we  ascribe 


CHAPTER  XYI.  63 

the  frequent  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  from  some  of  the  most 
powerful  governments  of  Europe  ?  The  confessional  was 
more  dreaded  by  many  of  the  crowned  heads  than  insurrec- 
tion, or  an  invading  army,  because  the  secrets  of  every 
cabinet  were  within  its  reach  ;  and  the  words  which  the  king 
uttered  in  his  bed-chamber  to-day  might  to-morrow  be  whis- 
pered in  the  confessional  I  The  same  may  be  said  of  all  the 
domestic  relations  of  life,  from  the  kneading  trough,  or  the 
kitchen,  to  the  bed-chamber !  In  these  respects  the  resem- 
blance between  the  prying  and  obtrusive  frogs  of  Egypt  and 
the  spirit  which  came  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  false  prophet, 
is  striking  enough. 

I  am  not  discussing  the  merits  of  auricular  confession.  It 
is  a  peculiarity  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  which  she  deems  use- 
ful to  her  interests,  and  I  admit  that,  if  used  \\\  a  strictly  re- 
ligious way,  it  may  be  most  advantageously  employed  in  pro- 
moting spiritual  instruction  and  comfort  ;  but,  at  the  same 
time,  all  must  be  convinced  that  it  lays  open  to  the  priesthood 
all  those  matters  of  state  policy  and  domestic  interest  which 
the  safety  of  the  one  and  the  peace  and  harmony  of  the  other 
require  should  be  sacredly  private.  But  let  us  now  look  into 
the  manner  in  which  those  three  unclean  spirits  exercised  so 
great  an  influence  over  the  kings  of  the  earth. 

The  few  very  brief  references  that  have  been  made  to  his- 
tory on  these  subjects,  have  been  sufficient  to  show  that  the 
kings  or  powers  of  Europe  that  were  in  league  with  Popery 
have  oppressed  and  persecuted  the  Christians  of  the  Refor- 
mation, at  the  instigation  or  by  the  command  of  the  Pope. 
Even  their  own  subjects,  as  in  France  and  Germany,  as  well 
as  in  other  countries,  have  been  punished  and  destroyed  in 
the  most  barbarous  manner  by  the  authority  of  Rome.  The 
crusades,  too,  afford  a  striking  exemplification  of  the  force  of 
that  influence.  These  fanatical  wars  were  got  up  and  prose- 
cuted for  the  purpose  of  extending  the  authority  of  Popery, 
and  by  them  whole  countries  were  laid  waste,  and  multitudes 
of  people  perished   by  the   sword,   and  by  pestilence  and 


64  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

famine.  All  this  came  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  dragon  ;  it 
was  the  spirit  of  religious  bigotry  and  persecution.  But 
above  all,  as  the  means  of  the  most  merciless  torture,  was  the 
holy  ojjice,  or  inquisition.  This,  too,  came  out  of  the  mouth 
of  the  dragon. 

Another  spirit  came  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  beast.  The 
prophet  refers  to  the  two-horned  beast  ;  he  could  not  refer 
to  the  ten-horned  beast,  inasmuch  as  he  was  the  chief  of  the 
kings  that  were  led  and  influenced  by  those  spirits. 

The  two-horned  beast,  as  has  been  already  shown,  was  the 
popedom,  in  its  temporal  power,  or  seeking  to  obtain  the 
great  dominion  claimed  by  Gregory  YII., — the  666  years' 
reign  of  Popery  over  the  kings  of  the  earth.  This  exorbitant 
demand  of  the  popedom  was  resisted  by  some  of  the  king- 
doms and  acquiesced  in  by  others.  The  consequence  of  this 
disagreement  was  a  resort  to  arras,  the  almost  invariable  and 
indispensable  mode  of  settling  disputes  between  kings  in  those 
days.  These  wars  were  instigated  by  the  spirit  which  came 
out  of  the  mouth  of  the  two-horned  beast. 

The  third  source  from  whence  the  unclean  spirits  arose  was 
the  great  and  powerful  order  of  Jesuits,  denominated  the 
false  prophet.  A  prophet  implies  teacher,  as  well  as  one  who 
foretells  future  events.  Religious  teachers  are  frequently 
styled  prophets  in  scripture  phrase.  The  great  influence 
which  this  order  has  exerted  over  the  kings  of  the  earth  has 
been  referred  to  before  in  the  brief  notices  of  what  history 
says  respecting  them.  Their  superior  learning  gave  them  the 
education  of  almost  all  Europe,  and  by  that,  as  chief  amongst 
the  various  means  which  they  employed  for  the  purpose,  they 
bound  the  nations,  hand  and  head,  to  the  throne  or  authority 
of  Popery  ;  they  imprinted  upon  the  hand  and  tlie  forehead 
the  indelible  mark  of  submission  to  the  See  of  Rome.  This 
was  all  done  without  the  use  of  arms  or  any  commotion 
amongst  the  governments,  and  in  that  respect  the  result 
looked  like  the  work  of  a  miracle.  To  the  nations  that  had 
been  accustomed  to  see  great  accessions  made  to  the  church 


CHAPTER  XVI.  65 

by  no  other  means  than  persecution,  in  some  form  or  other, 
this  quiet  and  peaceful  method  of  extending-  the  authority  of 
the  Pope,  even  over  countries  in,  a  state  of  semi-barbarism, 
must  have  appeared  as  nothing  less  than  miraculous.  But, 
according  to  the  statements  of  history,  the  Jesuits  have  not 
failed  to  resort  to  what  they  called  miracles,  whenever  that 
was  found  necessary  to  their  success. 

Thus,  the  spirit  which  came  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  false 
prophet  worked  miracles  before  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and 
obtained  great  influence  over  them. 

By  these  three  spirits,  acting  at  different  periods  upon  the 
governments  of  Europe,  and  leading  their  kings,  the  world 
has  been  kept  in  a  state  of  war  or  restless  agitation  for  ages. 
They  go  forth  to  the  kings  of  the  earth  and  of  the  whole  world 
to  gather  them  to  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God  Almighty. 

Those  spirits  are  congenial  to  the  tastes  and  dispositions 
of  the  rulers  of  this  world,  and  hence  their  influence  is  suc- 
cessfully employed  in  leading  them  on  to  their  own  destruc- 
tion. This  event  has  been  gradually  progressing  ever  since 
the  Reformation  gave  freedom  of  thought  and  liberty  of 
speech  to  the  people.  But  there  is  a  more  decisive  over- 
throw awaiting  these  kings  than  any  that  has  yet  been  re- 
alized. Important  changes  and  concessions  have  already 
been  made  in  the  old  despotic  governments  of  Europe,  from 
the  force  of  impressions  made  upon  the  great  public  mind 
by  the  light  of  the  Protestant  religion.  The  people  have 
embraced  its  light,  and  have  learned  better  opinions  of  reli- 
gion, as  well  as  juster  views  of  their  political  rights,  and  they 
demand  the  free  enjoyment  of  both.  But  what  remains  of 
the  old  and  sullen  despotism  of  former  times,  continues  to 
frown  upon  the  liberal  sentiments  of  the  present  day,  and 
submits  itself  to  the  leading  of  the  unclean  spirits,  until  all 
will  be  gathered  together  into  a  place  called,  in  the  Hebrew 
tongue,  Armageddjon.  This  Hebrew  term  signifies  a  jplace  of 
destruction,  and  the  prophet  employs  the  name  of  the  place 
to  signify  the  thing  itself.     These  spirits  led  the  kings  of  the 


66  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

earth  and  of  the  whole  world  until  they  were  entirely  over- 
tlirown  or  destroyed. 

The  destruction  alluded  to  will  be  brought  about  by  the 
superior  knowledge  the  people  will  derive  from  the  principles 
and  teachings  of  the  Protestant  religion.  They  will  learn 
what  are  the  just  rights  of  men  as  subjects  of  government, 
and  that  religious  freedom  is  the  birth-right  of  all  men. 
Under  this  improved  and  enlightened  state  of  the  human 
mind,  men  will  be  no  longer  deluded  by  false  miracles  and 
corrupt  doctrines  ;  their  faith  will  be  in  God  and  his  word, 
and  not  in  the  pompous  ceremonies  and  the  imposing  pre- 
tensions of  fallible,  and  frequently,  very  corrupt  men. 

Under  these  nobler  views  of  religion  and  civil  government, 
what  could  be  expected  but  that  the  old  institutions  of  bigot- 
ry and  superstition,  and  the  thrones  of  despotic  governments 
should  be  doomed  to  destruction — should  find  themselves  in 
Armageddon!  All  such  clusters  of  human  ignorance  and 
cruelty  will  be  thrown  into  the  wine-press  of  the  wrath  of 
God,  and  will  be  trodden  down  by  the  light  and  power  of 
the  Christian  religion. 

This  is  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God  Almighty, 
spoken  of  in  the  fourteenth  verse.  It  is  the  battle  of  the 
pure  Christian  religion  waging  an  exterminating  war  against 
all  systems  of  false  religion  devised  by  men  ;  and  it  is  the 
battle  of  rational  and  enlightened  liberty  against  the  exist- 
ence of  despotic  governments. 

The  warning  contained  in  the  fifteenth  verse  is  given  to  the 
nations  that  walk  in  the  light,  and  it  is  mtended  to  put  them 
on  their  guard  against  any  relaxation  of  their  effort  or  vigi- 
lence,  as  they  know  not  the  means  which  these  unclean  spirits 
will  employ  against  them.  It  amounts  to  this  :  that  the 
Protestant  powers  are  not  to  relax  their  efforts  to  spread  the 
true  gospel  religion,  and  suffer  themselves  to  be  lulled  into 
supiuencss  by  tlie  altered  tone  and  conciliatory  manner  of 
their  old  adversary.  They  are  not  to  allow  the  eueuiy, 
although  he  presents  himself  in  a  suljdued  manner,  to  enter 


CHAPTER  XYI.  6t 

their  camp  and  have  the  freest  access  to  all  their  defences, 
lest  he  may  deceive  and  overcome  them. 

Keeping  one's  garments  about  him,  implies  that  the  man 
is  on  his  guard,  and  will  not  be  surprised  by  the  insidious 
measures  of  his  foe,  and  thereby  expose  himself  to  the  ridi- 
cule of  others. 

The  garment  is  the  covering  and  defence  of  the  body,  and 
is  used  here  as  a  metaphor  to  signify  the  faith,  prayer  and 
works  of  righteousness,  which  are  the  strength  of  the  church, 
without  these,  the  shame  of  her  nakedness  would  appear. 


THE    SEVENTH   VIAL. 

17.  And  the  seventh  angel  poured  out  his  vial  into  the  air  ; 
and  there  came  a  great  voice  out  of  the  temjple  of  heaven,  from 
the  throne,  saying,  It  is  doiu. 

18.  And  there  were  voices,  and  thunders,  and  lightnings ; 
and  there  uas  a  great  earthquake,  such  as  was  not  since  men 
came  upon  the  earth,  so  mighty  an  earthquake,  and  so  great. 

19  And  the  great  city  was  divided  into  three  parts,  and  the 
cities  of  the  nations  fell :  and  great  Babylon  came  in  remem- 
Irance  before  God,  to  give  unto  her  the  ciip  of  the  tvine  of  the 
fierceness  of  his  wrath. 

20.  And  every  island  fed  away,  and  the  mountains  were  not 
found 

21.  And  there  fell  upon  men  a  great  hail  out  of  heaven, 
every  stone  about  the  weight  of  a  talent :  and  men  blasphemed 
God  because  of  the  plagues  of  the  hail;  for  the  plague  thereof 
was  exceeding  great. 

This  vial  differs  from  all  the  others,  in  this  respect,  it  is 
poured  out  into  the  air.  We  are  to  infer  from  this,  that  its 
effects  will  be  universal,  and  for  the  most  part  incomprehensi- 
ble in  their  origin,  and  various  as  to  the  portions  of  the 
earth,  or  countries  that  will  be  affected  by  them.  When  I 
say  they  will  be  universal,  I  mean  not  that  they  will  exist  in 


68  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

all  parts  of  the  earth  at  one  time,  but  that  they  will  be  experi- 
enced in  different  portions  of  the  earth  at  different  times. 
Two  peculiarities  are  suggested  by  the  text :  first  the  diffu- 
siveness of  this  vial  ;  and,  secondly,  the  mysterious  nature  of 
its  operation. 

Of  the  air,  or  atmosphere  that  surrounds  the  earth  we 
know  nothing,  but  by  its  effects.  We  hear  the  sound  thereof 
hut  cannot  tell  whence  it  cometh  or  whither  it  goeth.  When  the 
unchained  tempest  roars  against  the  mountain  and  uproots 
its  sturdiest  trees  ;  or  sweeps  over  the  sea,  scattering  whole 
navies  before  it  ;  man  hides  himself,  and  trembles  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  his  own  weakness.  These  storms  frequently 
break  out  suddenly,  and  rage  with  great  violence  within  a 
limited  space,  while  the  sea  and  the  land  in  all  other  direc- 
tions, are  perfectly  calm.  We  cannot  see  the  wind,  we  can 
only  feel  it  in  its  effects. 

It  is  a  universal  and  mysterious  element  which  gives  no 
account  of  itself  to  man,  and  disdains  his  authority. 

The  prophet  groups  under  several  distinct  heads,  the  dif- 
ferent forms  in  which  the  plagues  of  this  vial  will  appear. 
There  were  voices,  and  thunder,  and  lightnings — these  are 
the  standing  metaphors  of  disorder  and  i)olitical  commotion 
all  through  the  Apocalypse,  and  they  will  continue  under  the 
seventh  vial,  with  effects  exceeding  any  other  age  of  the 
world. 

A  great  earthquake  will  be  another  prominent  feature  of 
that  time  ;  of  a  character  so  mighty,  so  extraordinary,  as 
had  never  been  known  since  men  were  upon  the  earth.  As 
a  grand  effect  of  this  earthquake,  the  great  city  was  divided 
into  three  parts,  and  the  cities  of  the  nations  fell. 

Both  in  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian  Scripture,  the  church 
is  spoken  of  under  the  metaphor  of  a  city  ;  and  I  do  not 
know  that  the  same  figure  is  anywhere  em{)loycd  to  express 
civil  government.  In  the  eleventh  chapter,  eighth  verse, 
there  is  a  great  city  spoken  of,  in  the  streets  of  which  tjiat 
notable  outrage  was  committed   upon  the   two   witnesses. 


CHAPTER  XVI.  69 

The  spirit  of  that  o:reat  city  was  therefore  hostile  to  the  gos- 
pel of  Christ,  although  it  was  a  church  calling  itself  Chris- 
tian.    See  the  remarks  on  the  eleventh  chapter. 

The  true  character  of  these  great  cities  spoken  of,  is  to  be 
learned  from  the  circumstances  with  which  they  stand  con- 
nected. 

In  the  case  of  the  one  now  before  us,  there  is  nothing  said 
of  it  to  lead  us  to  suppose  it  is  the  same  as  the  one  spoken 
of  in  the  eleventh  chapter.  The  prophet  says  of  it  simply, 
that  the  great  city  was  divided  into  three  parts.  It  will  be 
proper  just  to  remark  here,  that  the  term  great,  when  ap- 
plied to  these  cities,  implies  the  extensive  and  powerful  in- 
fluence they  exert  in  the  world.  During  the  ages  before  the 
Reformation,  and  for  some  time  after  it  proclaimed  a  free 
gospel  to  all  mankind,  the  Romish  Church,  in  the  sense  above 
mentioned,  was  the  great  city.  But,  from  the  prevalence 
and  influence  which  will  distinguish  Protestantism  in  the 
days  of  this  seventh  vial,  the  term,  great  city,  will  become 
more  appropriate  to  that  religion. 

It  seems  reasonable  to  suppose,  that  the  term  city,  is  not 
intended  to  comprehend  all  portions  of  Protestant  Christen- 
dom, from  the  fact  that  it  is  immediately  said,  after  speaking 
of  the  great  city  :  and  the  cities  of  the  nations  fell.  The 
great  city  then  is  a  term  of  distinction,  showing  that  what 
is  spoken  of  is  not  a  single,  isolated  body  of  Christians,  but 
a  whole  nation,  whose  government  is  founded  upon  the  doc- 
trines and  morality  of  the  gospel ;  whose  laws  recognise  as 
its  fundamental  principles — the  laws  of  God.  Such  a  nation 
is  a  great  city !  its  influence  will  be  felt  in  distant  nations  by 
means  of  those  efforts  of  Christian  benevolence  which  it  will 
make  to  carry  the  blessings  of  the  gospel  to  the  people  of 
all  lands.  There  are  two  such  great  cities  now  in  the  world 
— England  and  the  United  States  of  America.  But  which  of 
the  two  will  be  the  great  city  that  will  be  divided  into  three 
parts,  time  and  the  event  itself  only  can  tell. 

The  earthquake  under  this  vial  is  unlike  the  earthquake 


•J0  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

of  the  eleventh  chapter.  That  earthquake  was  attended 
with  elements  of  terror  ;  thousands  are  represented  as  slain 
by  it,  and  the  remnant  as  being  greatly  affrighted.  I  am 
aware  that  this  language  is  figurative,  but  it  suggests  the 
idea  of  consternation.  Not  so  in  the  present  case.  Here  is 
an  earthquake  it  is  true,  but  that  in  prophetic  language  sig- 
nifies nothing  more  than  some  great  change  in  the  civil  gov- 
ernment of  a  country — and  the  earthquake  is  great,  or  other- 
wise, according  to  the  consequences  produced  by  this  change. 

There  are  no  appearances  of  terror — no  shocks  of  over- 
whelming ruin  attending  this  earthquake  ;  a  change  passes 
over  the  nation,  and  it  is  divided  into  three  parts.  The  pro- 
pliet  makes  no  further  use  of  it  than  merely  to  mention  it  as 
one  of  the  remarkable  events  of  the  seventh  vial — that  when 
it  occurs  it  will  stand  for  a  sign  of  the  last  days. 

Ail  that  can  be  said  as  to  the  manner  of  dividing  the  great 
city  into  three  parts,  can  amount  to  nothing  more  than  con- 
jecture. No  certainty  can  be  reached  in  a  matter  that  is 
yet  in  the  future  ;  but  looking  upon  what  has  passed  over 
the  world  in  the  way  of  great  changes  in  the  policy  and 
government  of  nations,  and  the  comparative  quietness  and 
ease  with  which  old  and  arbitrary  forms  and  principles  are 
laid  aside,  and  new  and  more  appropriate  ones  take  their 
place  ;  we  may  suppose  that  the  great  city  will  be  divided 
into  tliree  parts,  without  the  violence  and  bloodshed  that 
formerly  attended  every  change  in  a  government.  Some 
poHtical  disagreement — some  sectional  or  local  interest — 
real  or  imaginary,  may  lead  to  discord,  and  grow  into  dissen- 
sion which  cannot  be  healed.  One  section  of  the  great  city 
may  take  an  independent  attitude  ;  and,  moved  by  the  ex- 
ample of  this  one,  another  portion,  having  a  different  inter- 
est may  do  the  same,  until  thfre  will  be  three  governments, 
each  indejiendent  of  the  otlier,  where  there  was  formerly 
but  one  ;  but  all  continuing  to  maintain  the  same  religious 
principles — the  same  gospel  morality,  and  the  same  Chris- 
tian benevolence,  which  distinguished  the  great  city  when 


CHAPTER  XVI.  71 

it  was  but  one.  The  change  will  be  political.  But  there 
is  such  a  strength  of  Christian  principle,  and  such  a  strong 
influence  of  gospel  morality  amongst  the  people,  that  every 
change  in  civil  government  will  have  to  bow  before  truth 
and  righteousness — will  have  to  acknowledge  kindness  and 
good  will  amongst  men,  as  the  true  basis  of  government. 

The  cities  of  the  nations  fell.  This  is  another  pecu- 
liarity of  the  seventh  vial  age.  No  one  can  say  how  long 
this  age  will  last,  whether  one,  two,  or  three  hundred  years, 
or  even  to  a  period  beyond  this  ;  but  within  this  time, 
all  sectarian  distinctions  amongst  Christians  will  cease — 
all  bigotry  and  jealousy,  which  will  now  sometimes  arise, 
and  too  frequently  separate  and  estrange  Christian  com- 
munities from  each  other,  will  then  be  banished,  and  all 
the  different  forms  and  ceremonies  of  church  service — the 
mete  wood,  hay  and  stubble  of  men's  different  opinions  will 
exist  no  longer.  The  light  of  that  age  will  enable  Chris- 
tians to  see  eye  to  eye  ;  there  will  be  no  dissentions  where 
all  see  alike.  The  great  temple  spoken  of  (15  chap.:  5,) 
will  fill  the  Christian  world  in  that  day. 

Those  sectarian  differences  amongst  Christians,  which  now 
exist,  are  not  spoken  of  by  the  prophet  as  subjects  of  the 
divine  displeasure.  In  fact,  they  are  unavoidable — if,  in- 
deed, they  are  not  indispensible  ;  because,  the  temper  and 
disposition  of  men's  minds  are  so  various,  that  diversity  of 
opinions  relative  to  church  government  and  forms  of  divine 
worship  must  be  unavoidable  ;  but  when  all  are  moved  by  a 
proper  zeal,  much  more  success  will  attend  the  efforts  to 
spread  the  gospel,  than  any  one  form  of  church  government 
and  worship  would  be  likely  to  have.  The  world  has  seen 
this  demonstrated  since  the  Reformation.  When  the  world 
was  under  the  one  church  power,  religion  became  a  despotism, 
and  the  fear  of  God  was  entirely  lost  in  the  paramount  fear 
of  the  authorities  of  the  church  I  But  the  several  members, 
or  branches  of  the  Christian  Church,  which  have  sprung  up 
from  a  free,  Protestant,  religion,  have  provoked  each  other 


•J2  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

to  love  and  to  good  works  ;  they  have  stimulated  each  other 
.to  acts  of  Christian  benevolence  ;    and,  by  this  holy  strife, 
■  they  have   given  the  gospel  to  all  lands,  where  Christian 
access  was  at  all  possible. 

The  seventli  vial  age  will  not  w^itness  these  exertions  ;  it 
will  Ije  the  half  hour's  silence  in  heaven.  The  gospel  day 
then  has  passed,  and  these  cities  of  the  nations,  these  different 
churches,  will  fall,  and  become  merged  in  the  great  one  tem- 
ple filled  with  the  glory  of  God. 

The  next  striking  feature  of  that  age  is  great  Babylon, 
just  now  brought  under  the  power  of  the  divine  displeasure. 
There  is  a  peculiarity  in  the  manner  of  the  prophet's  expres- 
sion just  liere.  He  says  :  And  great  Babylon  came  in  remem- 
brance before  God,  to  give  unto  her  the  cup  of  the  wine  of  the 
fierceness  of  his  icrath.  This  mode  of  expression  implies  that 
the  power  alluded  to  had  its  seat  in  some  distant  place,  quite 
ouside  of  the  sphere  in  which  the  great  events  revolved  that 
have  hitherto  occupied  the  attention  of  the  prophet.  This 
Babylon  was  not  within  the  temple  of  God  and  the  altar  that 
were  measured  by  direction  of  the  angel,  (chap,  xi.,)  but  had 
its  seat  in  the  court  which  was  without,  and  w^hich  was  given 
to  the  Gentiles  ;  and  the  manner  of  noticing  it  now  signifies 
that  it  had  been  overlooked  or  disregarded  in  the  previous 
dispensations  of  the  divine  justice — its  time  had  not  yet 
come. 

This  great  Babylon  is,  without  doubt,  the  vast  Moslem 
hierarchy — the  Turkish  religion. 

In  order  to  force  the  Koran  upon  the  world,  the  Turk  has 
eni[)loyed  his  power  with  characteristic  cruelty,  and  has 
equalled,  in  the  treatment  of  his  Christian  captives,  the 
greatest  ))arbarities  which  ancient  Babylon  ever  inflicted 
uj)on  the  Jews. 

Upon  the  great  calendar,  where  nations  and  empires  are 
set  down  for  divine  adjudication,  the  case  of  Mohammedanism 
is  now  reached,  and  the  cup  of  the  wine  of  the  fierceness  of 
God's  wrath  is  given  unto  her. 


CHAPTER  XVI.  73 

The  sixth  vial  was  poured  out  upon  this  power,  1)ut  its 
eifects  were  political.  Under  the  seventh  vial  the  Moham- 
medan religion  is  struck,  and  then  this  dark,  sullen,  and  fero- 
cious delusion  will  come  to  an  end.  The  glory  of  God  and 
the  happiness  of  man  equally  require  that  it  should  come  to 
an  end. 

Mohammedanism  is  so  distant  from  the  morality  of  the  gos- 
pel, and  its  principles  so  repugnant  to  Christianity  and  so  de- 
basing to  the  human  mind,  that  no  Christian  effort  has  ever 
been  able  to  approach  it.  It  has  ever  been  invulnerable  at 
every  point  to  the  light  of  the  gospel.  This  monstrous  sys- 
tem of  religion,  the  compound  of  cruelty  and  sensuality, 
throws  its  mountain  form  directly  across  the  highway  of  the 
Christian  religion  ;  and  while  the  nations  around  it  are  cast- 
ing off  their  old  systems  and  springing  into  new  life  and 
vigor,  this  Moslem  power  remains  as  unexcited  and  as  insen- 
sible to  the  stirring  scenes  of  the  age,  as  if  it  were  a  dead 
carcass.  There  it  lies,  unmoved  and  shrouded  in  the  hideous 
and  impenetrable  gloom  of  its  own  fatalism. 

Having  disposed  of  the  errors  and  overthrown  the  impure 
systems  which  had  grown  up  in  Christendom,  the  Almighty 
now  stretches  forth  his  hand  and  shakes  down  this  great 
mountain,  and  puts  an  end  to  this  Mahometan  Babylon. 

The  complete  extirpation  of  Mohammedanism  from  the 
earth  is  expressed  in  the  figurative  language  of  the  twentieth 
verse  :  And  every  island  Jlcd  away,  and  the  mountains  were  not 
found. 

These  cumbersome  and  coarse  metaphors  are  employed  as 
suitable  to  that  sensual  and  degraded  religion.  But  another 
Babylon,  another  system  of  religion,  is  to  be  overthrown, 
which,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  is  illustrated  by  metaphors 
of  an  intellectual  kind. 

The  last  providential  act  which  occurs  under  the  seventh 
vial  judgment  is  named  hi  the  last  verse  of  the  chapter  :  And 
there  fell  upon  men  a  great  hail  out  of  heaven,  cj-c.  This  hail, 
whatever  it  may  import,  will  be  conspicuous  amongst  the 

VOL.  II. 4 


"74  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

events  of  the  seventh  trumpet  age,  and  will  be,  perhaps,  the 
most  fearful  of  all  the  judgments  of  that  judgment-day. 

Hitherto  the  chastisements  of  heaven  upon  the  nations 
have  been  produced  chiefly  by  wars  and  famines  ;  but  these 
will  cease,  and  will  no  longer  be  known  in  the  earth.  The 
prevalence  of  Christianity — of  course  I  speak  of  a  Christianity 
which  has  God  in  it — will  put  an  end  to  wars,  an  event  re- 
ferred to  by  the  Psalmist  in  the  forty-sixth  psalm  : 

9.  He  maketh  wars  to  cease  unto  the  end  of  the  earth  ;  he 
hreahcth  the  how,  and  mtfeth  the  spear  in  sunder  ;  he  hurneth 
the  chariot  in  the  fire. 

10.  Be  still,  and  know  that  I  am  God  ;  I  will  he  exalted 
among  the  heathen  ;  I  will  he  exalted  in  the  earth. 

The  peculiar  language  of  these  two  verses  of  the  psalm 
api)ly  with  striking  fitness  to  this  unique  visitation.  The 
vial  form  in  whicli  it  came  was  poured  out  into  the  air,  im- 
plying that  the  visitation  would  be  diffusive,  extending  gene- 
rally throughout  the  earth.  And  God,  in  the  prophetic 
words  of  the  Psalmist,  is  represented  as  saying,  to  the  ordi- 
nary means  of  judgments  upon  men,  stand  still;  retire,  or 
give  jili-'ce  to  my  voice,  which  I  will  cause  to  be  heard  ;  not 
in  Christendom  alone,  but  in  all  the  earth — not  amongst  the 
nations  only  that  have  heard  my  gospel,  but  the  heathen  shall 
also  know,  by  means  of  this  last  visitation,  that  /  am  God, 
and  my  name  shall  he  exalted  in  all  the  earth — far  and  wide,  as 
the  air  which  extends  over  all  the  earth,  so  shall  this  last 
visitation  extend  to  all  people  and  lands. 

Famine,  as  well  as  wars,  will  cease  to  afflict  the  earth. 
This  also  will  be  a  consequence  of  the  influence  of  Christianity. 
Under  its  enlightening  power,  all  the  great  improvements 
which  are  beneficial  to  man  and  conduce  to  his  happiness 
have  their  origin.  Increased  knowledge  in  the  arts  of  hus- 
l)undry,  and  the  vast  extent  of  agriculture,  under  a  state  of 
universal  peace,  will  fill  every  land  with  abundance  ;  and  if 
any  j)art  of  the  earth  should  happen  to  fail  in  its  supplies,  the 
telegraph  will  instantly  send  the  cry  of  want  into  other  couu- 


CHAPTER  XVI.  »J5 

tries,  and  the  great  steamers  and  the  swift  lines  of  railroad 
trains  will  promptly  supply  the  want  ;  so  that  famine  can 
hardly  be  contemplated 'as  a  possibility  in  the  greatly  im- 
proved state  of  agriculture,  and  the  rapidity  with  which  su|> 
plies  can  be  thrown  from  one  country  into  another. 

AVhat  is  to  be  the  rod*  of  this  judgment  in  the  last  dispen- 
sation ?  The  prophet  speaks  of  it  as  a  great  hail  falling  upon 
men  out  of  heaven.  His  language  is  metaphorical,  and  is 
intended  to  represent  the  existence  of  some  great  evil  acting 
upon  men  with  fearful  effect — exciting  the  most  intense 
anxiety  and  dread.  And  yet,  like  the  air,  it  is  unseen,  un- 
controllable, and  mysterious;  known  in  all  lands,  but  equally 
inexplicable  to  all  people. 

To  answer  the  question,  what  is  it — what  is  implied  by 
this  great  and  ponderous  hail  ?  I  should  say  that  there  is 
nothing  of  an  effective  providential  character  known  to  the 
world  so  likely  to  be  this  rod,  as  the  Asiatic  cholera.  Proba- 
bly the  Psalmist,  speaking  as  a  prophet,  for  he  was  not  speak- 
ing of  his  own  times,  referred  to  this  very  extraordinary  dis- 
ease, which  he  appropriately  denominated  the  pestilence  thai 
walketh  in  darkness — a  most  forcible  illustration  of  a  disease 
that  wraps  itself  in  mystery,  and  in  the  midst  of  noon-daj 
light  of  medical  science  eludes  and  confounds  the  most  keen- 
sighted  and  penetrating  researches  of  medical  genius.  Nothing 
answers  to  the  fall  of  the  great  and  ponderous  hail  so  suita- 
bly as  this  dire  and  incomprehensible  disease.  And  there  fell 
upon  men  a  great  hail  out  of  heaven,  every  stone  about  the  weight 
of  a  talent  ;  and  men  blasphemed  God,  because  of  the  plague  of 
the  hail  ;  for  the  plague  thereof  was  exceeding  great. 

The  blasphemy  spoken  of  in  the  text  is  not  to  be  taken  in 
the  common  acceptation  of  that  term  ;  but  what  it  means 
here  is,  that  men  ascribed  to  some  inferior  agency  that  which 
was  the  direct  appointment  of  God.  This  pestilence,  although 
so  mysterious  and  inexplicable  upon  any  known  laws  of  dis- 
ease, men  still  attempted  to  account  for  and  explain  upon 
natural  causes — thus  defeating  the  ends  or  purposes  of  this 


76  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

judj^ment  Iw  taking  it  out  of  the  hand  of  God,  and  making  it 
a  natural  or  common-place  occurrence.  Notwithstanding  the 
plague  of  tiiis  hail  was  exceeding  great — meaning  the  whole 
character  of  this  pestilence,  its  origin  and  its  operation,  w^as 
strange  and  wonderful  beyond  anything  known  in  the  order 
of  diseases,  and  might  well  entitle  it  to  be  regarded  as  a 
judgment  from  God. 

The  seventh  vial  was  poured  out  into  the  air,  and  this  hail 
fell  out  of  heaven,  the  common  expression  for  the  atmosphere 
above  and  around  us. 

The  cholera  has  its  home  in  the  air,  and,  like  the  air,  we 
hear  the  sound  of  it,  but  cannot  tell  whence  it  cometh  or 
whither  it  goeth.  We  feel  and  behold  the  effects  of  the 
cholera  in  its  death-ravages,  but  we  know  nothing  else  of  it. 
"When  it  suddenly  falls  upon  a  whole  city  and  hurries  away 
a  part  of  its  population,  who  has  ever  been  able  to  tell  where 
it  came  from  ?  And  when  it  sheathes  its  destroying  sword 
and  departs,  who  will  tell  us  whither  it  goeth  ?  It  steps  from 
continent  to  continent,  and  from  one  country  to  another,  aud 
all  that  we  know  of  it  when  it  makes  these  gigantic  strides 
is  its  foot-prints  of  death  which  it  leaves  behind  it.  At  one 
time  it  fills  the  city  with  death  and  lam^entation,  at  another 
it  points  its  death-finger  at  the  quiet  cottage,  and  some  of  its 
innuites  fall.  The  mountain-top  and  the  healthful  vale  afford 
no  security  from  its  ravages.  It  travels  in  the  crowded 
steamboats,  and  makes  the  solitary  river-banks  populous  with 
its  dead.  It  strikes  its  death-blow  even  in  the  railroad-car 
while  on  its  rapid  flight.  It  seizes  upon  one  island  in  the  sea 
and  almost  depopulates  it,  while  neighboring  islands  feel 
nothing  of  its  effects.  It  lays  its  hand  of  death  upon  the 
crowded  and  busy  emporium,  and  the  thronged  streets  are 
hushed  to  silence.  Men  forsake  their  occupations  and  their 
wealth  and  fly  for  their  lives,  while  a  neighboring  city  is  un- 
touched by  it. 

Nor  does  the  cholera  pay  any  more  respect  to  climate  or 
Bcasou  than  it  does  to  healthy  or  unhealthy  localities. 


CHAPTER  XVr.  "Jt 

If  we  trust  to  the  purifying  frosts  of  winter  to  shield  us  from 
its  grasp — behold!  we  hear  the  wail  of  cholera-death  mingling 
with  the  storms  of  sleet  and  snow.  If  the  balmy  breath 
of  summer  promises  us  health  and  safety  from  it,  alas  I  the 
cholera  is  found  concealed  in  our  most  delicious  fruits.  No 
place,  no  circumstance,  no  condition  exempts  us  from  it  ;  the 
sea  and  the  land,  the  crowded  city  and  the  open  country, 
wealth  and  poverty,  are  all  alike  subject  to,  and  have  be^u 
visited  by  this  most  mysterious  and  inscrutable  pestilence. 

Is  not  this  precisely  what  our  Lord  means,  in  that  memor- 
able conversation  with  the  Pharisees,  when  they  demanded 
of  him  when  the  kingdom  of  God  should  come  ?  After  giv- 
ing them  many  of  the  circumstances  and  signs  which  will 
precede,  or  attend  the  advent  of  that  kingdom,  he  speaks  in 
this  wise  :  I  tell  you  in  that  night — Christ  had  spoken  of  the 
night  that  cometh  when  no  man  can  see  to  work — In  that 
day  there  shall  he  two  in  one  led;  the  one  shall  he  taken  and  the 
other  left.  Two  shall  he  grinding  together ;  the  one  shall  he 
taken  and  the  other  left.  Two  shall  he  in  the  field ;  the  one 
shall  he  t alien  and  the  other  left. 

What  can  this  mean,  if  it  does  not  refer  to  this  singular 
and  mysterious  pestilence  ?  Here  are  three  conditions,  which 
may  represent  the  different  states  into  which  human  society 
is  divided.  First,  here  is  the  bed— signifying  a  state  of  ease, 
comfort,  and  affluence.  Secondly,  the  grinding  at  the  mill 
is  the  laboring  classes,  who  work  within  doors,  or  free  from 
exposure  to  the  vicissitudes  of  the  weather  ;  and,  lastly,  the 
class  that  performs  the  laborious  service  of  husbandry;  they 
are  upon  the  open  fields,  exposed  to  the  heat  of  summer  and 
the  cold  of  winter.  And  in  those  three  classes  or  conditions 
of  men,  the  agent,  or  influence,  our  Savior  referred  to,  made 
no  distinction  ;  and  yet,  in  each  of  those  conditions  it  makes 
a  marked  personal  discrimination.  Persons  situated  pre- 
cisely alike,  are  strangely  separated  ;  one  part  is  cut  down, 
the  other  is  untouched  I  This  accords  strictly  with  the  mys- 
terious cause  of  the  cholera. 


78  THE  ArOCALYPSE  UXVEILEP. 

But  some  will  ask,  was  not  Christ  speaking  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  when  he  used  the  language  above  quoted  ? 
Whoever  thinks  so,  let  him  apply  these  sayings  to  that  event, 
and  if  he  can  discover  any  meaning  in  them  under  such  an 
api>lication,  let  him  do  so. 

The  Pharisees  w^ere  very  solicitous  to  learn  where  this 
most  surprising  event  should  take  place  ;  but  our  Savior 
made  it  his  business  to  impart  instruction  rather  than  to 
gratify  curiosity,  and  knowing  that  these  events  did  not  apply 
to  their  age,  (though  they  may  to  our  age,)  he  simply  an- 
swered :  Wheresoever  the  body  is,  thither  will  the  eagles  be 
gathered  together.  He  does  not  mean  any  particular  place 
l)y  this  answer,  he  means  to  say  these  things  will  certainly 
come  to  pass.  As  certainly  as  the  eagles  from  their  lofty 
flight  discern  their  prey,  and  rush  from  the  clouds  to  seize 
upon  it,  just  so  certainly  will  these  things  that  I  have  spoken 
to  you  come  to  pass  in  their  appointed  time  ;  they  will  not 
fail  any  more  than  the  prey  of  the  eagle  fails  to  fall  under 
the  keen,  penetrating,  far-reaching  eye  of  that  bird.  But 
to  return  from  our  digression. 

With  what  a  mockery  does  the  cholera  treat  the  science 
of  medicine  ?  How"  it  spurns  the  laws  which  govern  and 
give  identity  to  all  other  diseases  !  How  strange  are  its 
movements,  and  how  it  changes  its  form  and  features  with- 
out changing  its  fearful  power.  Indeed,  so  relenting  does 
it  appear  at  times,  that  the  man  of  medicine  fancies  he  has 
succeeded  in  binding  this  Sampson  of  pestilence — that  he 
has  found  out  a  remedy  ;  and  indulges  a  strong  hope  that 
he  will  recover  the  patient  ;  but  when  he  calls  again,  he 
finds  his  bands,  with  which  he  hoped  he  had  securely  bound 
the  strong  foe,  l)roken  and  shattered  like  shreds  of  tow,  and 
lie  is  confounded  in  beholding  the  minister  of  death  standing 
before  him  in  a  form  in  which  he  had  never  seen  him  before. 

If  the  Almigiity  should  commission  this  destroyer  of  men 
to  empty  tlie  land  which  he  had  given  to  Abraham  and  his 
seed  fur  a  possession  for  ever  ;  how  short  would  be  the  work  ? 


CHAPTER  XVI.  79 

how  soon  would  the  avenues  of  their  cities  be  choked  with 
the  dead,  and  the  fields  be  strewed  with  the  dying!  In  sliort, 
how  soon  would  the  whole  country  present  just  such  a  scene 
as  that  which  is  described  in  the  thirty-ninth  chapter  of 
Ezekiel. 

The  history  of  Sennacherib's  army  records  a  frightful 
instance  of  the  terrible  effects  of  this  angel  of  death. 

The  Assyrian  came  up  in  all  the  pomp  and  pride  of  a 
mighty  conqueror,  to  tread  down  Jerusalem.  His  heralds 
proclaimed  his  approach,  and  in  his  name  demanded  the  sur- 
render of  the  city.  He  scorned  the  God  in  whom  the  peo- 
ple trusted,  and  boastfully  asked,  what  gods  had  been  able 
to  save  other  countries  from  his  victorious  arms  ? 

The  good  Hezekiah,  then  upon  the  throne  of  Judea, 
pleaded  with  God  for  help  against  this  powerful  and  pre- 
sumptuous adversary.  By  the  mouth  of  the  prophet  Isaiah, 
God  assured  the  king,  that  the  Assyrian  should  not  come 
into  the  city,  nor  should  he  shoot  an  arrow  there;  but  should 
be  driven  back  by  the  way  that  he  came. 

Hezekiah  was  not  left  in  long  suspense  as  to  the  issue  ; 
that  very  night  the  angel  of  death  smote  the  Assyrian,  and 
the  next  morning  beheld  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  thou- 
sand corpses  scattered  throughout  the  camp. 

This  angel  of  death,  doubtless,  was  what  is  now  called  the 
Asiatic  cholera.  The  dreadful  scene  of  mortality  produced 
in  Sennacherib's  army  in  one  night,  resembles  very  much  the 
ravages  of  the  cholera  in  Asia,  and  Europe,  and  our  own 
country,  within  the  last  few  years — sudden  in  its  attack,  and 
quick  in  its  work  of  death. 

It  is  no  argument  against  this  view  of  the  providential  use 
of  the  cholera,  to  say,  that  it  is  not  a  new  infliction  or  calamity 
upon  men— that  it  is  as  old  as  Sennacherib's  army,  and  that 
its  very  name,  "  Asiatic  cholera,"  denotes  that  it  has  long 
been  known  in  the  earth. 

All  this  is  admitted.  But  what  this  explanation,  of  at  least 
one  striking  peculiarity  of  the  seventh  vial,  contends  for  is, 


80  THE  APOCALYrSE  UXVEILED. 

that  this  is  one  of  the  principal,  and  perhaps  the  most  re- 
ma  rkaljlc  one,  of  the  mysterious  means  of  chastising  nations, 
adopted  as  a  suhstitute  for  those  which  have  passed  away. 

Tlie  cholera  may  have  been  known  ages  ago,  but  has  never 
before,  perliaps,  been  taken  up  by  Providence  as  a  means  of 
general  national  chastisement.  It  is  an  old  visitation,  now 
ap})lied  to  new  purposes — an  old  rod  hitherto  used  only  in 
remote  and  secluded  portions  of  the  earth,  but  is  now  brought 
out  and  em})loyed  by  the  Almighty  to  chastise  the  obstinacy 
and  rebellion  of  the  people.  Nor  does  it  at  all  conflict  with 
this  view  of  the  subject  to  say  that  the  righteous  also  fall  by 
tliis  pestilence.  What  judgment  of  God  ever  visited  any  na- 
tion that  the  righteous  did  not  fall,  more  or  less  ?  As  human 
society  now  exists,  the  righteous  unavoidably  participate,  to 
some  extent,  in  the  evil  brought  upon  the  world  by  the  un- 
godly, whether  it  be  war,  or  famine,  or  pestilence.  But  they 
do  not  suffer  as  enemies  of  God,  but  as  his  children,  whose 
afflictions  are  sanctified  to  their  good,  whether  they  live  or 
die. 

When  the  seventh  angel  poured  out  his  vial  into  the  air,  a 
great  voice  out  of  the  temple  of  heaven,  from  the  throne,  made 
this  solemn  enunciation  :  It  is  done  !  Imagination  can  add 
nothing  to  the  grandeur  and  solemnity  of  this  announcement. 
It  is  the  unalterable  and  eternal  decree  of  Jehovah  himself, 
proclaiming  tlirougli  the  temple — that  is,  his  church — that ;!! 
that  is  earthly,  all  the  institutions  and  systems,  powers  mid 
principalities,  hitherto  known  and  familiar  with  men,  wili  fade 
away  from  tlie  earth,  will  disappear  and  be  no  more  kii<  uu 
when  tlie  effects  of  this  vial  have  been  completed.  The  united 
voice  of  the  whole  Church  of  Christ,  which  once,  while  the 
gospel  day  lasted,  called  men  to  repentance,  and  implored 
thein  to  receive  the  proffered  mercy  of  God,  through  Jesus 
Christ,  now,  upon  the  authority  of  God — that  is,  the  voice 
from  the  throne — proclaims  the  day  of  grace  is  passed,  the 
suunner  of  mercy  is  ended,  the  work  of  salvation  has  ceased — 
it  is  done.     A  word  more  upon  the  last  plague. 


CHxVPTER  XVI.  81 

Numerous  instances  are  upon  record  of  sudden  visitations 
of  the  Divine  judgments  upon  a  community  or  a  country — 
such  as  the  case  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  of  Egypt,  and  the 
history  of  the  Israelites,  and  afterwards  of  the  Jewish  nation. 
But  in  all  these  cases  the  visitation  was  for  a  local  or  present 
purpose,  to  punish  for  social  or  national  sins.  But  we  are  to 
suppose  that  the  latter  day,  or  judgment-day  judgments,  if  I 
may  so  call  them,  by  way  of  distinction,  which  will  reach 
over  all  the  earth  and  abide  amongst  all  nations,  will  not 
come  in  that  sudden  manner,  but  will  appear,  and  then  dis- 
appear again,  like  the  clouds,  which  for  awhile  obscure  the 
face  of  the  sun,  then  disappear,  and  all  is  bright  again  as  be- 
fore. Then  they  will  rise  again,  and  again  disappear  ;  but 
finally  the  whole  sky  is  overcast,  and  the  destroying  tempest 
howls  over  the  land  and  the  sea. 

The  cholera  arose  in  some  remote  part  of  Asia,  and  ravaged 
awfully  as  it  coursed  its  way  over  than  continent,  then  threw 
itself  upon  Europe.  The  people  of  Europe  trembled  and 
bowed  before  the  dreadful  scourge,  and  thousands  were  its 
victims.  It  left  Europe,  and,  riding  upon  the  winds,  it  crossed 
the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  smote  the  cities  and  smaller  towns 
of  America  ;  not  all  at  once,  but  one  after  another,  observ- 
ing generally,  as  a  rule,  not  to  attack  two  cities  at  the  same 
time.  This  was  one  of  the  extraordinary  peculiarities  of  the 
cholera  when  it  first  appeared  in  this  country.  Its  second 
visitation  was  not  marked  so  strictly  by  the  observance  of 
this  rule.  But  it  still  walks  in  darkness — still  maintains  its 
mysterious  and  inscrutable  character;  shakes  its  fearful  rod, 
first  over  one  nation,  then  over  another;  throws  one  city  into 
grief,  and  then  appears  in  another,  in  quite  a  different  part 
of  the  country.  But  when  the  day  of  judgment  is  come — 
when  the  voice  out  of  the  throne,  it  is  done,  shall  be  heard, 
then  this  rod  of  God's  anger  will  be  laid  upon  the  whole 
earth  at  once — will  be  as  universal  as  the  air,  and,  like  the 
great  hail,  it  will  fill  the  earth  at  one  time  with  an  exceeding 
great  plague. 

VOL.  II. — 4* 


82  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

Such,  no  doubt,  was  tlie  manner  in  which  the  flood  ap- 
proached. Men  were  duly  notified  of  it.  Noah  was  warning 
the  people  and  building  the  ark  one  hundred  and  twenty  years. 
During  this  time,  we  may  suppose  that  the  earth  gave  fre- 
quent signs  of  the  approach  of  that  event :  but  when  these 
subsided,  the  fears  of  the  people  subsided  too.  But  the  time 
came  at  last,  of  which  Noah  had  warned  them,  and  a  univer- 
sal deluge  engulphed  the  earth. 

The  seals  discontinue  their  developments  by  the  half  hour^a 
silence  in  heaven,  when  the  gospel-day  closes.  The  trumpets 
extend  their  announcement  of  great  changes  in  the  religious 
and  civil  government  of  the  world,  and  conclude  with  the 
opening  of  the  temple  of  God  in  heaven,  in  which  was  seen 
the  ark  of  his  testament,  signifying  that  the  laiv  of  God  will 
then  become  the  great  governing  principle  amongst  the  king- 
doms of  the  earth.  The  changes  which  will  produce  this 
wonderful  revolution  in  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  ex- 
pressed in  the  language  of  the  concluding  verse  of  the 
eleventh  chapter  :  And  there  were  lightnings,  and  voices,  and 
thundering,  and  an  earthquake,  and  great  hail. 

The  vials  close  the  Revelations,  or  the  Divine  Dispensa- 
tions, in  the  form  of  judgments  ;  with  the  universal  effects 
of  those  judgments,  exhibited  under  the  metaphor  of  great 
hail,  corresponding  with  the  closing  scene  of  the  trumpets. 

Ilaving  brought  all  these  revelations  down  to  their  close, 
the  propliet  now  goes  back,  to  exhibit  and  explain  other 
things  which  had  passed  under  his  eye  in  the  great  drama  of 
revelation. 

The  first  subject  which  he  takes  up  for  exhibition  is  the 
corrupt  connection  of  the  Church  with  the  kingdoms  of  this 
world  ;  showing  the  great  authority  she  had  exercised  over 
them,  and  the  moral  effects  produced  upon  each  other  by  this 
connection. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    WOMAN    SITTING    UPON   THE    SCARLET-COLORED    BEAST. 

1.  And  there  came  one  of  seven  angels  which  had  the  seven 
vials,  and  talked  with  me,  saying  unto  me,  come  hither ;  I  will 
shew  unto  you  the  judgment  of  the  great  whore  that  sitteth  upon 
many  waters  ; 

2.  With  whom  the  kings  of  the  earth  have  committed  forni- 
cation, and  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  have  hccn  made  drunk 
with  the  tvine  of  her  fornication. 

3.  So  he  carried  me  away  in  the  spirit  into  the  wilderness : 
and  I  saw  a  woman  sit  iipon  a  scarlet-colored  least,  full  of 
names  of  blasphemy,  having  seven  heads  and  ten  horns. 

4.  And  the  woman  was  arrayed  in  purple  and  scarlet  color, 
decked  with  gold,  and  precious  stones,  and  pearls,  having  a 
golden  cup  in  her  hand,  full  of  abominations  and  filthiness  oj 
her  fornications. 

5.  And  upon  her  forehead  was  a  name  written.  Mystery, 
Babylon  the  Great,  the  Mother  of  Harlots  and  abominations 
of  the  earth. 

6.  And  I  saw  the  woman  drunken  with  the  blood  of  the  saints, 
and  with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Je^us :  and  when  I  saw 
her,  I  wondered  with  great  admiration. 

One  of  the  seven  angels  which  had  the  seven  vials,  became 
the  instructor  of  the  prophet  in  this  vision.  Come,  follow  me,  I 
will  show  you,  or  make  you  acquainted,  with  the  moral  cha- 
racter of  this  corrupt  woman  that  sitteth  upon  many  waters  : 
that  is,  she  exercises  a  controlling  power  and  authority  over 


84  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

peoples,  and  multitudes,  and  nations,  and  tongues.  (See  the 
fifteenth  verse). 

The  kings  of  the  earth  first  corrupted  the  church.  She 
was  led  into  a  spirit  of  worldly  ambition  by  the  flattery  and 
gifts  bestowed  by  kingly  power,  until  she  at  length  claimed 
the  right  of  exercising  power  over  thrones  and  dominions  I 
The  spirit  and  principles  of  Christianity  were  prostituted  to 
the  lust  of  power  and  worldly  aggrandizement. 

This  corrupt  influence  had  the  natural  effect  of  demorali- 
zing the  people.  All  sense  of  spirituality,  and  even  morahty 
was  lost,  and  they  became  like  people  in  a  state  of  intoxica- 
tion— bewildered,  stupid,  and  incapable  of  distinguishing  one 
thing  from  another  :  thus,  the  angel  says  :  the  inhabitants  of 
the  earth  have  been  made  drunk  by  the  ivine  of  her  fornications. 
Nothing  but  the  stupor  of  a  moral  intoxication  could  have 
induced  the  people  to  buy  as  greedily  as  they  did,  the  Pope's 
indulgences  ;  and  to  yield  themselves  the  easy  dupes  of  the 
pious  frauds  and  impositions  practiced  upon  them  in  that 
day  of  ignorance,  by  their  spiritual  teachers. 

The  prophet  was  carried  away  in  the  spirit  into  the  wil- 
derness ;  where  he  saw  a  woman  sit  upon  a  scarlet-colored 
beast,  full  of  names  of  blasphemy,  having  seven  heads  and 
ten  horns. 

This  beast  is  the  German  Empire  upholding  the  authority 
of  the  Papal  Church.  The  wilderness  is  the  place  where 
this  woman  is  seen.  The  reader  will  recollect  that  the 
woman,  of  a  very  different  character  from  this  one,  which 
the  prophet  described,  clothed  with  the  sun  and  having  the 
moon  under  her  feet,  was  in  the  wilderness,  also  ;  she  fled 
into  the  wilderness  for  protection.  The  wilderness  in  both 
cases  is  civil  government.  The  woman  on  the  scarlet-colored 
beast,  rides  upon  it,  impels  and  controls  it,  for  the  purpose 
of  destroying  the  saints  ;  while  the  first  woman  fled  to  the 
wilderness,  that  is,  took  shelter  under  the  authority  of  civil 
power  for  safety,  not  to  use  it  as  the  means  of  violence  and 
persecution. 


CHAPTER  XVII.  85 

The  time  of  tins  vision  is  ascertained  by  the  description 
of  the  beast.  The  seven  heads  and  ten  horns  have  been 
described  in  the  thirteenth  chapter,  and  they  are  the  seven 
electorates  by  whom  the  German  emperors  were  elected  ; 
and  the  ten  horns  are  those  powers  or  sovereignties  that 
composed  the  empire.  It  is  further  said  of  this  beast  that 
it  was  full  of  names  of  blasphemy.  These  were  the  acts  and 
decrees  of  the  different  diets  and  councils,  and  titles  used  by 
the  emperors,  particularly  Charles  V.,  in  his  struggle  against 
the  Reformation.  All  the  peculiarities  of  this  beast  distin- 
guish the  German  empire  during  that  period,  and  after  it. 

The  woman  is  represented  as  sitting  upon  the  beast.  The 
Church  was  upheld  by  this  empire — the  great  sword  of  civil 
power,  in  opposing  the  Reformation,  was  employed  under  the 
direction  of  the  woman.  The  scarlet  color  of  the  beast  ex- 
presses its  resemblance  in  its  power  and  temper  to  the  old 
dragon  empire  of  Rome.  And  the  woman  was  arrayed  in 
colors  which  liken  her  to  the  imperial  authority  of  Rome  in 
its  ferocious  persecution  of  the  Christians. 

Besides  the  purple  and  scarlet  colors  in  which  the  woman 
was  arrayed,  the  prophet  says  she  was  decked  with  gold,  and- 
precious  stones,  and  pearls.  These  are  ornaments  usually  worn 
for  the  purpose  of  striking  the  eye  of  the  beholder,  and  ex- 
citing wonder  and  admiration;  they  are  no  part  of  the  cloth- 
ing ;  they  are  not  worn  for  comfort,  but  to  produce  an  effect 
upon  those  who  look  upon  them.  In  this  view  these  orna- 
ments in  which  the  woman  was  decked  most  singularly  ac- 
cord with  the  worship  of  the  church  she  represents.  It  is  all 
outward  show,  and  frequently  very  gay  and  pompous,  calcu- 
lated to  strike  the  senses,  and  through  them  to  affect  the 
mind. 

The  gorgeous  cathedrals  and  sumptuous  churches,  decked 
with  costly  and  glowing  drapery,  and  pictures,  with  vessels 
and  ornaments  of  gold  and  silver,  and  the  imposing  ceremo- 
nials of  their  worship,  are  all  designed  to  strike  the  outward 
sense,  and  raise  the  admiration  of  men,  but  do  not  produce 


86  THE  ArOCALYI\SE  UNVEILED. 

any  moral  eflfect,  or  impart  any  spiritual  comfort.  If,  as 
some  suppose,  these  costly  ornaments  express  the  wealth  of 
the  Church  of  Rome,  they  are  well  adapted  to  that  purpose 
also. 

The  riches  which  were  accumulated  by  the  sale  of  indul- 
gences only,  about  the  time  the  Reformation  commenced, 
were  almost  incalculable  ;  but  besides  this,  the  kingdoms  of 
all  Christendom  were  laid  under  contribution  to  the  coffers  of 
the  church. 

The  woman  had  in  her  hand  a  golden  cup,  full  of  abomina- 
tions and  fill hiness  of  her  fornication. 

This  golden  cup  fitly  represents  Christianity  in  its  outward 
institution.  Its  legitimate  contents  are  the  purifying  opera- 
tions of  the  Holy  Spirit — the  grace  which  strengthens  the 
hope  and  faith  of  men,  and  generally  all  the  blessings  of  the 
gospel  of  Christ. 

This  cup  in  the  hand  of  the  woman  represents  her  as  pro- 
fessing the  Christian  religion — claiming  to  be  the  Christian 
Church.  But  instead  of  the  blessings  of  the  gospel  which  we 
look  for  in  the  Christian  cup,  this  cup  in  the  woman's  hand 
was  filled  with  the  abominations  and  filthiness  of  her  fornica- 
tion— that  is,  under  the  name  and  profession  of  a  Christian 
Cliurch,  her  doctrines  and  teachings  have  a  demoralizing 
eflfect  ;  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  are  made  drunk  by  the 
wine  with  which  she  has  filled  this  cup  ;  they  are  brought 
under  a  moral  stupor  and  intoxication. 

The  religion  of  Europe  before  the  Reformation,  as  well  as 
since  that  time,  in  those  countries  which  have  rejected  its 
light,  fully  corroborates  what  is  here  said  of  the  effects  of  the 
contents  of  this  woman's  cup. 

Very  decided  tokens  of  the  woman's  character  are  given  in 
what  tlie  prophet  saw  written  upon  her  forehead  :  And  upon 
her  forehead  was  a  name  written,  Mystery,  Babylon  the  Great , 
the  Mother  of  harlots,  and  abominations  of  the  earth. 

Tiiese  give  the  character  of  this  woman  in  the  age  referred 
to  by  the  prophet,  when  she  sat  upon  the  scarlet-colored 


CHAPTER  XVII.  Bt 

beast  ;  and,  taken  all  together,  they  are  called  a  name  which 
signifies  her  history,  which  comprises  these  various  character- 
istics.    The  first  trait  named  is  "  Mystery  !" 

When  we  revert  to  the  early  purity  and  self-denying  spirit 
of  the  church,  and  especially  to  the  patience,  fortitude,  and 
resignation,  with  which  she  endured  the  violent  persecution 
of  Pagan  Rome,  giving  up  her  lifo  rather  than  part  with  her 
faith  in  Christ,  and  now  behold  her  inflicting  the  same  tor- 
tures and  death  upon  those  who  profess  the  same  faith,  the 
term  mystery  is  distinctly  applicable.  It  is,  indeed,  most 
mysterious,  that  a  church  which  once  willingly  suffered  death 
for  her  religion,  should  now  punish  with  death  the  people 
who  profess  the  same  religion,  while  she  at  the  same  time 
claims  to  be  the  Church  of  Christ  on  earth — the  oldest  and 
the  only  true  apostolic  church.  Beyond  a  doubt,  she  is  a 
mystery. 

The  next  title  is,  Babylon  the  Great,  by  which  she  is  dis- 
tinguished for  all  those  acts  of  ferocious  persecution  that  are 
so  fearfully  conspicuous  in  her  history.  The  blood  of  the 
Waldenses  and  Albigenses,  the  fires  of  Sraithfield,  the  tor- 
tures of  the  inquisition,  the  purposes  of  the  Spanish  Armada, 
the  slaughter  of  the  Saint  Bartholomew,  the  cruelties  inflicted 
upon  the  Huguenots — all  these,  with  her  whole  system  of  cruel 
and  vexatious  opposition  and  hindrance  to  the  progress  of 
the  Protestant  religion,  liken  her  to  great  Babylon,  that 
ferocious  power  of  old,  which  destroyed  the  people  of  God  un- 
der the  Jewish  dispensation,  and  whose  memories  of  despotic 
oppression  remain,  and  give  name  and  distinction  to  the 
acts  of  cruelty  and  blood  perpetrated  upon  Christians  by  a 
Christian  Church. 

The  last  title  is,  the  Mother  of  harlots  and  abominations  of 
the  earth.  Amongst  this  progeny  of  the  woman  may  be  seen 
the  secret  and  open  infidelity  and  atheism  with  wliich  Eu- 
rope, and  particularly  France,  has  been  corrupted.  The 
desecration  and  total  disregard  of  the  Sabbath,  and  the  train 
of  vices  and  immoralities  to  which  the  contempt  of  that  sa- 


88  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

cred  institution  leads,  are  the  prevailing  habits  of  the  people 
in  all  countries  which  lie  under  the  dominion  of  this  woman. 
Corrupt  morals,  vitiated  religious  tastes,  debauchery  and 
bhisphemy,  are  the  common  and  tolerated  iiidulgences  of  this 
mother  of  abominations,  and  illustrate  the  forcible  figure  used 
by  the  prophet,  the.  inhahitants  of  the  earth  have  been  made 
drwnk  with  the  wine  of  her  fornication. 

It  is  strange  that  Protestant  divines  should  claim  descent 
from  this  woman.  If  any  such  connection  does  exist,  it  would 
be  more  discreet  to  conceal  it  than  to  boast  of  it. 

The  prophet  closes  his  description  with  saying  :  And  I  saw 
the  icoman  drunken  with  the  Mood  of  the  saints  and  with  the 
blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus  ;  and  when  I  saw  her  I  wondered 
with  great  admiration. 

In  this  remarkable  picture  the  prophet  describes  a  particu- 
lar period  in  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  history  of  Europe.  I 
shall  now  proceed  to  show  when  that  period  existed. 

We  cannot  go  further  back  for  its  origin  than  the  four- 
teenth century.  It  was  in  1356  when  the  empire  assumed  the 
peculiar  form  of  the  seven-headed  beast.  It  was  then  that  the 
number  of  electors  was  fixed  by  the  "  Golden  Bull,"  at  seven. 

These  electors,  by  their  vote,  conferred  the  empire — their 
voice  elected  the  emperor.  The  ten  horns,  or  the  ten  sovereign- 
ties, existed  as  so  many  portions  of  the  empire  long  before 
the  institution  of  the  seven  electorates.  This  was  the  politi- 
cal constitution  of  the  German  empire  in  the  time  of  the 
Reformation. 

We  will  now  look  at  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  these 
times,  as  referred  to  in  the  character  of  the  woman  who  was 
seated  on  the  scarlet-colored  beast,  or  the  Papal  Church 
acting  upon  and  directing  the  powers  of  the  empire. 

The  persecutions  with  which  the  dragon  attempted  to  de- 
stroy the  first  symptoms  of  the  Ileformation,  as  heard  in  the 
cry  of  tlic  souls  the  prophet  saw  under  tiie  altar,  when  the 
fifth  seal  was  opened,  began  at  an  earlier  date.  The  sword  of 
persecution  in  France  had  slain  these  earliest  reformers,  and 


CHAPTER  XVII.  89 

the  Inquisition  followed  to  gather  up  all  that  had  escaped 
the  sword.  Its  profoundly  secret  movements — its  thousand 
spies  and  informers,  made  it  almost  impossible  for  any  one 
to  speak  a  word  against  the  errors  and  corruptions  of  the 
llomish  Church  without  being  brought  under  its  tortures. 

But  when  the  Keformation  proper,  lifted  up  its  voice  in 
Germany,  then  the  fury  of  the  woman  was  seen,  in  the  efforts 
of  cruelty  which  she  was  constantly  making  to  extinguish  its 
light  and  arrest  its  progress. 

In  view  of  the  general  character  of  the  persecutions 
against  Protestants  by  Popery,  the  prophet  says  :  And  I  saw 
the  woman  drunken  with  the  blood  of  the  saints,  and  with  the 
martyrs  of  Jesus. 

The  prophet,  I  think,  is  referring,  when  he  speaks  of  the 
w^oman  being  drunk,  to  the  suicidal  madness  and  stupidity 
with  which  this  persecution  was  conducted.  Men  who 
attempt  to  commit  any  acts  of  violence  against  others,  while 
in  a  state  of  drunkenness,  often  inflict  greater  injury  upon 
themselves  than  upon  those  they  assail.  In  their  senseless 
fury,  they  do  themselves  greater  injury  than  those  they  de- 
siiirn  to  harm.  Let  us  take  France  as  an  illustration.  Xo 
part  of  the  population  of  France  was  more  orderly,  peaceable 
and  useful  to  the  nation,  than  the  Albigenses  and  the  Wal- 
denses,  and  yet,  these  were  the  very  people  who,  by  the  di- 
rection of  the  woman,  were  hunted  down  and  destroyed  like 
wild  beasts.  The  massacre  of  the  St.  Bartholomew  swept  off 
thousands  of  the  most  patriotic,  noble  and  distinguished  of 
her  citizens — the  very  chivalry  of  the  country  ;  and,  finally, 
the  banishment  of  the  Huguenots,  under  Louis  XIV.,  de- 
prived his  kingdom  of  the  most  ingenious,  industrious  and 
orderly  portion  of  his  subjects,  who,  carrying  with  them  their 
invaluable  skill  and  industry  into  other  countries,  became  the 
means  of  raising  up  rival  interests  to  France,  who,  previous 
to  this  act  of  perfidy  and  cruelty,  had  enjoyed  the  exclusive 
benefit  of  their  skill  and  industry  in  the  particular  kind  of 
manufactures  in  which  they  excelled,  as  well  as  the  example 


90  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

of  their  upright  and  religious  deportment.  But,  they  were 
Protestants  !  and  were,  therefore,  proper  subjects  for  the 
persecuting  and  destroying  policy  of  the  woman,  no  matter 
at  what  costs  to  the  national  interests.  Such  acts  of  folly 
and  madness  are  resembled  by  the  prophet  to  the  effects  of 
drunkenness. 

The  authority  of  the  Church  of  Rome  was  upheld  in  Eu- 
rope chiefly  by  the  military  power  of  the  German  empire;  and 
many  of  the  desolating  wars  in  which  the  empire  was  fre- 
quently engaged,  were  for  the  maintenance  of  her  power 
over  those  kingdoms  and  countries  which  had  partially  or 
entirely  embraced  the  Protestant  cause.  Although  the  em- 
pire was  the  strong  arm  of  her  defence,  and  the  principal 
seat  of  her  strength,  there  were  separate  kingdoms  which 
gave  her  the  support  of  the  sword.  Amongst  these,  France 
was  conspicuous  ;  and  whenever  the  strife  was  exclusively 
for  the  defence  of  Popery,  "The  Great  Sword,"  which  was 
consecrated  to  that  service,  in  the  coronation  oath  of  Char- 
lemagne, was  wielded  with  tremendous  destruction. 

France  never  used  the  sword  in  vindication  of  the  Pro- 
testant religion.  It  is  true  that  she  joined  Sweden  in  the 
war  between  the  empire  and  Gustavus  Adolphus,  when  he 
took  the  field  to  defend  the  rights  of  Protestants  in  Ger- 
many. But  Richelieu  avowed  his  motive  to  be,  not  the  aid 
of  the  Protestants,  but  by  incidentally  aiding  their  side  of 
the  struggle,  he  might  be  able  to  effect  a  higher  object, 
which  was  to  humble  the  house  of  Austria. 

The  complete  body  and  form  of  this  vision  we  may  con- 
sider as  having  had  a  full  development  in  that  period  of  Eu- 
ropean history  which  began  with  the  reign  of  Charles  V.  of 
Germany,  and  ended  when  Buonaparte  exploded  the  German 
empire,  and  used  its  materials  in  the  construction  of  the 
French  emj)ire  ;  which,  for  military  power  and  splendor, 
(•oinl)ined  witli  imperial  grandeur  and  magnificence,  never 
had  an  equal  in  the  world  1 

But  the  woman  did  not  sit   upon  this  beast.     Napoleon 


CHAPTER  XVII.  91 

never  employed  his  sword  in  propagating  or  ujiholding  eccle- 
siastical power.  He  had  no  religious  wars.  The  thunder  of 
the  Vatican,  which  shook  the  thrones  of  Europe,  was  struck 
dumb  in  his  presence,  and  Popery,  in  its  political  form, 
shared  the  same  fate  that  was  experienced  by  the  other 
powers,  from  his  bold  and  triumphant  strides  over  continental 
Europe. 

In  concluding  this  vision  of  the  w^oman,  the  prophet  says  : 
And  when  I  saw  her  I  wondered  with  great  admiration.  And 
well  he  might  wonder  and  be  astonished,  when  he  recollected 
what  this  woman  was  in  her  infancy.  He  well  remembered 
the  zeal  of  Paul,  and  Peter,  and  James,  and  many  others 
with  w^hom  he  was  associated  in  the  holy  labor  of  building 
up  the  church  upon  the  true  gospel  foundation.  He  called 
to  mind  her  vigorous  growth,  her  piety  and  godly  bearing 
before  men  ;  how  she  rebuked  the  worldly-minded,  and  in- 
structed and  comforted  all  who  came  to  her  light.  When  he 
reverted  to  the  holy  exhortations  and  affectionate  counsels 
which  he  addressed  to  her  in  her  youthful  state — 71%  little  chil- 
dren, these  things  write  I  unto  you,  that  yc  sin  not ;  and  in  her  more 
advanced  age,  when  she  became  the  mother  of  children  in  the 
various  parts  of  the  Roman  Empire,  he  addressed  her,  in  the 
language  of  his  Second  Epistle,  the  elder  unto  the  elect  lady 
and  her  children,  whom  I  love  in  the  truth, — when  all  those 
scenes  of  the  early  purity  and  loveliness  of  the  woman  came 
fresh  upon  his  mind,  and  he  contrasted  them  with  her  condi- 
tion now  presented  to  him  by  the  angel — when,  instead  of 
the  chaste  and  lovely  elect  lady  whom  he  loved  in  the  truth, 
he  now  beheld  her  a  fallen,  profligate  woman,  absorlied  in 
worldly  aggrandizement,  and  shedding  the  blood  of  the  saints 
and  martyrs  of  Jesus,  he  might  well  be  overwhelmed  with 
astonishment  and  wonder. 

The  angel  next  proceeds  to  give  explanations  on  the  politi- 
cal character  of  the  governments  of  Europe  as  they  were 
connected  with  the  history  of  the  woman  in  executing  her 


92  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

vengeance  upon  her  opposers,  and  finally  in  overthrowing  the 
woman  herself. 

lie  first  refers  to  the  political  change  which  had  passed 
upon  the  beast  that  the  prophet  saw  arise  out  of  the  sea.  The 
historical  sketch  which  the  angel  gives  reaches  from  the  days 
of  Charlemagne,  when  he  established  his  great  empire  over 
Europe,  down  to  the  overthrow  of  the  Napoleon  dynasty  in 
1816. 

I  shall  notice  this  sketch  very  briefly,  as  much  of  it  as  has 
been  referred  to  in  the  remarks  upon  previous  chapters. 

The  principal  object  of  these  explanations  seems  to  be  to 
fix  in  the  minds  of  men  the  truthfulness  of  these  prophecies, 
and  thereby  establish  the  authenticity  of  the  Christian  Scrip- 
tures ;  for  in  this  Book  of  Revelation  we  are  told  that  pro- 
phecy is,  in  all  ages  of  the  church,  to  be  regarded  as  t/ie  testi- 
mony of  Jesus. 

7.  And  the  angel  said  unto  me,  Wherefore  didst  thou  marvel  1 
I  trill  fell  thee  the  mystery  of  the  woman,  and  of  the  beast  that 
carricth  her,  which  hath  the  seven  heads  and  ten  horns. 

8.  The  beast  that  thou  sawest  was,  and  is  not  ;  and  shall  as- 
cerid  out  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and  go  into  perdition  :  and  they 
that  dwell  on  the  earth  shall  wonder  (whose  names  were  not  writ- 
ten in  the  book  of  life  from  the  foundation  of  the  world)  when 
they  behold  the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not,  and  yet  is. 

9.  And  here  is  the  mind  which  hath  wisdom.  The  seven  heads 
are  seven  mountains,  on  which  the  woman  sitteth. 

10.  And  there  are  seven  kings  :  five  are  fallen,  and  one  is,  and 
the  other  is  not  yet  come  ;  and  ivhen  he  cometh,  he  must  continue 
a  short  space. 

11.  And  the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not,  even  he  is  the  eighth, 
and  is  of  the  seven,  and  goeth  into  perdition. 

12.  And  the  ten  horns  which  thou  sawest  are  ten  kings,  which 
have  received  no  kingdom  as  yet;  but  receive  power  as  kings 
one  hour  with  the  beast. 

13.  These  have  one.  mind,  and  shall  give  their  power  and 
strength  unto  the  beast. 


CHAPTER  XYir.  93 

14.  These  shall  make  war  with  the  Lamb,  and  the  Lamb  shall 
overcome  them  :  for  he  is  Lord  of  lords,  and  King  of  kings  ; 
and  they  that  are  with  him  are  called,  and  chosen,  and  faithful. 

15.  And  he  said  unto  me,  The  waters  which  thou  sawest,  where 
the  whore  sitteth,  are  peoples,  and  multitudes,  and  nations,  and 
tongues. 

16.  And  the  ten  horns  ichich  thou  sawest  upon  the  beast,  these 
shall  hate  the  whore,  and  shall  'make  her  desolate  and  naked,  and 
shall  eat  her  flesh,  and  burn  her  with  fire. 

It.  For  God  hath  put  in  their  hearts  to  fulfill  his  will,  and 
to  agree,  and  give  their  kingdoms  unto  the  beast,  until  the  ivords 
of  God  shall  be  fulfilled. 

18.  And  the  icoman  which  thou  sawest  is  that  great  city, 
which  reigneth  over  the  kings  of  the  earth. 

The  first  thing  the  angel  tells  the  prophet,  by  way  of  ex- 
planation, is,  that  the  beast  which  he  saw  was,  and  is  not ; 
does  not  noiv  exist  in  the  political  character  which  it  bore 
when  he  saw  it  rise  out  of  the  sea.  But  it  will  appear  again 
in  that  same  character,  and  it  shall  ascend  out  of  the  bottom- 
less pit.  Here  is  the  past,  the  present,  and  the  future.  The 
vision  of  the  woman  seated  upon  the  scarlet-colored  beast, 
we  learn  from  this  explanation,  referred  to  a  period  subse- 
quent to  the  reign  of  the  French  monarchs  over  the  empire 
which  Charlemagne  had  established,  and  precedent  to  the 
French  Revolution — the  bottomless  pit,  out  of  which  the 
power  arose  that  restored  the  beast  to  his  first  political  char- 
acter, and  put  him  again  under  French  sovereignty.  This  is 
simply  a  fact  in  the  political  history  of  Europe,  having  no 
immediate  connection  with  the  church.  The  empire  is  con- 
sidered to  have  taken  its  decided  Germanic  character  under 
Otho  the  Great  in  the  tenth  century,  having  been  previously 
governed  by  a  French  monarch,  Charlemagne  and  his  descen- 
dants. The  beast  loas  a  great  French  monarchy,  until  it 
passed  to  the  Germans,  then  the  period  existed  when  the  an- 
gel says,  it  is  not ;  and,  referring  to  a  time  future  to  the 
vision  then  before  them,  he  says  it  shall  be  again,  and  shall 


94  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

ascend  out  of  tlie  bottomless  pit  ;  so  that  the  German  Em- 
pire was  tlie  searlet-eolored  beast  upon  which  the  woman  sat, 
and  came  in  between  the  first  and  the  last  stage  of  the  beast 
first  seen.  True,  the  angel  says— and  they  that  dwell  on  the 
earth  shall  wonder,  when  they  behold  the  beast  that  was,  and  is 
not,  and  yet  is!  It  would  be  an  egregious  error  to  suppose 
that  the  angel  meant  to  say,  that  the  beast  was,  and  was  not, 
did,  and  did  not  exist  at  the  same  time.  In  every  way  and 
in  every  sense  this  would  be  an  utter  impossibility.  What  he 
means  to  say  is,  that  they  who  shall  dwell  upon  the  earth 
when  the  beast  will  be  again,  after  he  has  ascended  out  of  the 
bottomless  pit,  will  wonder  and  be  astonished  at  what  he  will 
do. 

This  second  appearance  of  the  beast,  or,  it  may  be  said, 
the  restoration  of  the  old  Charlemagnic  Empire,  was  the 
French  Empire,  whose  grandeur  was  created  by,  and  whose 
power  and  spirit  were  the  inspirations  of,  the  genius  of  Napo- 
leon. 

It  can  hardly  be  necessary  to  say  of  an  historic  event  of 
such  recent  occurrence,  that  the  wonderful  achievements  ho 
accomplished  in  his  military  triumphs,  and  the  great  changes 
he  produced,  with  electrical  celerity,  in  the  politics  and  gov- 
ernments of  E]urope,  struck  the  world  with  amazement  and 
awe,  and  shook  Europe,  particularly,  with  a  consternation 
that  it  had  never  felt  before. 

This  consternation  is  the  feeling  alluded  to  by  the  angel, 
when  he  says  :  And  they  that  dwell  on  the  earth  shall  wonder, 
when  they  behold  the  beast,  that  was,  and  is  not,  and  yet  is, 
again  at  the  head  of  the  most  formidable  empire  the  world 
ever  saw. 

But  this  wonder  and  consternation,  the  text  says,  agitated 
those  whose  names  were  not  written  in  the  book  of  life  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world.  To  such,  these  scenes  were 
especially  alarming. 

13y  the  term,  foundation  of  the  world,  the  angel  means  the 
introduction  of  the  Christian  dispensation — the  foundation  of 


CHAPTER  XVII.  95 

the  gospel  economy  !  The  book  of  Hfe  metaphorically  signi- 
fies the  whole  body  of  the  Christian  doctrine  as  taught  by 
Christ  and  his  apostles,  and  having  the  name  written  in  this 
book  implies  an  adherance  to  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  of 
the  grace  of  God.  And  by  those  wliose  names  are  not  writ- 
ten in  this  book  of  life,  are  meant  the  false  systems  of  reli- 
gion ;  a  corrupted  Christianity,  which  is  of  man's  own  devising, 
and  which  he  adheres  to  in  opposition  to  the  pure  system  of 
Christianity  as  taught  in  the  word  of  God.  Was  not  this 
the  religion  of  Europe,  when  the  beast  made  his  second 
appearing  ? 

These  are  they  who  are  represented  as  being  struck  with 
wonder,  or  are  seized  with  fear  and  dread,  when  they  behold 
the  overthrow  and  destruction  of  the  old  despotic  govern- 
ments. The  religious  despotism  of  Europe  trembled  when 
it  beheld  the  thrones  of  despotic  power,  with  which  it  had 
been  leagued  for  centuries,  falling  before  the  arms  of  Eu- 
rope's conqueror.  When  it  saw  the  whole  Germanic  empire 
— the  scarlet-colored  beast,  on  which  the  woman  sat  in  gor- 
geous array  and  in  supreme  authority,  prostrated  and  broken 
up  ; — and  still  more,  when  it  beheld  the  patrimony  of  St. 
Peter  snatched  from  the  hands  of  pontifical  rule,  and  the 
Pope  himself  a  captive  and  prisoner — in  the  presence  of 
such  scenes,  the  woman  must  have  shuddered  with  a  wonder 
more  pregnant  with  agony,  than  the  common  meaning  ascribed 
to  that  word,  conveys. 

All  Europe  wondered  at  the  daring  exploits  of  Buonaparte; 
the  world  stood  amazed  at  the  rapidity  with  which  he  un- 
crowned and  humbled  the  sovereigns  of  the  neighl)oring  king- 
doms. This  surprise  was-  a  feeling  common  to  all,  and  shows 
that  the  angel  means  a  stronger  and  deeper  feeling  of  aston- 
ishment that  is  implied  by  the  common  use  of  the  word,  won- 
der ;  for,  he  says,  that  only  those  were  eff'ected  with  this 
feeling,  whose  names  were  not  written  in  the  book  of  life 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world— evidently  meaning  that 
system  of  corrupt  religion,  whose  authority  and  existence 


96  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

depended  chiefly  upon  the  stability  of  those  very  powers 
which  were  near  falling  by  the  sword  of  Napoleon. 

Seeing  the  bulwarks  of  despotism  giving  way  upon  every 
hand,  Popery  might  well  apprehend  that  such  a  general 
rupture  and  explosion,  would  be  followed  by  similar  effects 
upon  its  own  ecclesiastical  tyranny  ;  and  that  Europe  would 
be  thrown  open  to  the  free  exercise  of  religious  opinion  and 
religious  liberty  !  This  apprehension  has  been  realized  to  a 
very  great  extent,  and  is  distinctly  pointed  to  and  illustrated 
by  the  angel  seen  by  the  prophet,  j^yi??^  in  the  midst  of  heaven, 
ha  ving  the  everlasting  gospel  to  preach  unto  them  that  dwell  on 
the  earth,  and  to  every  nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue,  and 
people.     (Fourteenth  chapter.) 

I  have  only  one  more  point  to  remark  upon  in  relation  to 
the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not,  and  yet  is. 

In  several  instances  in  the  progress  of  this  work,  we  have 
had  occasion  to  notice  the  remarkable  coincidence  between  the 
prophecy  and  the  events  to  which  it  referred  ;  and  have  been 
astonished  at  hearing  the  announcement  of  the  prophet 
echoed  by  the  voice  of  history.  Such  an  instance  occurs  in 
the  present  case. 

Buonaparte  published  a  decree  in  May,  1808,  setting  forth 
his  reasons  for  wresting  the  ecclesiastical  states  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  Pope.  In  that  decree  he  refers  to  Charlemagne 
in  this  language:  "Whereas,  the  donation  of  Charlemagne, 
our  illustrious  predecessor,"  &c.  Here  is  a  most  remarkable 
historical  fact,  going  to  show  that  the  French  empire,  created 
by  jNapoleon,  was  the  second  state  of  the  beast  ;  or  the  re- 
storation of  the  empire  of  Charlemagne,  which  had  been 
absorljed  by  the  Germanic  empire,  and  then  loas  not ;  it  had 
lost  its  first  peculiarity,  its  imperial  French  head  ;  but  now  is 
restored  to  its  original  Frenmh  sovereignty !  and  yet  is  ;  or 
exists  again. 

When  Buonaparte  speaks  of  Charlemagne  as  his  illustri- 
ous predecessor,  we  are  led  to  ask  :  where  are  all  those  Ger- 
man emperors,  whose  renown  extended  from  Otho  the  Great, 


CHAPTER  XVII.  97 

of  the  tenth  century,  down  to  Francis  II.,  in  whose  reign 
the  empire  was  broken  up  in  189G  ?  Buonaparte  pays  no 
attention  to  them,  he  does  not  notice  one  of  them  :  and,  as 
if  they  were  quite  unknown  to  him,  he  looks  over  their  heads 
away  back  to  the  centuries,  when  the  sovereignty  of  the  em- 
pire was  in  tlie  French  nation,  and  says  :  "  Charlemagne, 
''  my  illustrious  predecessor  !  " 

This  is  but  one  of  the  numerous  instances  in  w^hich  the 
history  of  Napoleon  responds,  with  surprising  precision,  to 
the  announcements  of  prophecy. 

Having  disposed  of  the  beast  that  the  prophet  first  saw, 
whose  history  is  condensed  in  the  small  compass  of  the  eighth 
verse,  the  angel  now  resumes  the  history  of  the  woman, 
and  the  beast  that  carried  her  ;  this  is  the  empire  under  its 
Germanic  head  that  he  now  speaks  of,  leaving  out  the  eighth 
verse,  wdiich  has  reference  exclusively  to  the  beast  in  its  first 
and  second  appearance  under  its  French  head.  The  words 
of  the  angel  are  these  :  /  will  tdl  tJiee.  the  mystery  of  the  wo- 
man a7id  of  the  beast  that  carrieth  her,  which  hath  seven  heads 
and  ten  horns.  The  seven  heads  are  seven  mountains,  on  which 
the  woman  sitteth. 

This  saying  of  the  angel  has  given  rise  to  the  opinion  that 
the  woman  spoken  of  was  the  City  of  Rome,  and  that  the 
seven  hills  upon  which  Kome  was  originally  built,  are  referred 
to  under  the  name  of  mountains. 

Without  entering  into  any  argument  to  show  the  utter 
improbability  that  such  was  the  meaning  of  the  angel,  I  shall 
just  say  that  the  Apocalypse  has  nothing  to  do  with  cities,  as 
mere  habitations  of  men  ;  its  aims  are  of  a  higher  and  much 
more  important  kind.  It  treats  of  the  great  principles  of 
nations  ;  and  points  them  out  by  their  acts,  and  the  moral 
and  political  effects  which  those  acts  produce  upon  the  world. 
Such  a  purpose  would  be  greatly  departed  from,  if  it  were  to 
stoop  so  low  as  to  occupy  itself  with  the  mounds  of  earth 
upon  which  some  city  was  accidentally  built. 

Another  opinion  is  expressed  by  a  learned  commentator, 

VOL.  II. — 5 


9g  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

Doctor  Adam  Clarke,  with  much  greater  show  of  probability, 
but  still  not  more  correct  than  the  former.  The  Doctor, 
after  an  elaborate  argument,  comes  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  seven  mountains,  are  the  seven  electorates  of  the  empire, 
and  as  the  high  dignity  of  electing  the  emperor  rested  upon 
them,  he  considers  mountains  as  being  a  most  appropriate 
metaphorical  description  of  those  electorates.  His  argument, 
however,  tangles  itself,  and  throws  his  whole  theory  into 
confusion. 

In  correcting  the  Doctor's  opinion,  it  is  proper  to  remark 
that,  in  no  instance  is  it  said  the  woman  sat  upon  the  heads 
of  the  beast.  Slie  is  uniformly  represented  as  sitting  ujpon 
the  beast,  not  upon  its  heads.  But  does  not  the  angel  say, 
that  the  seven  heads  are  seven  mountains,  uponwkich  the  woman 
siltdh  ?  Whatever  the  angel  says,  is  true  ;  but  do  we  take 
his  meaning  correctly  when  we  interpret  him  in  such  a  way 
as  to  involve  an  utter  impossibility  ?  Can  the  subjects 
alluded  to  by  the  angel,  upon  any  correct  principles  of  figur- 
ative or  metaphorical  speech,  be  the  heads  of  the  beast,  and 
at  tlie  same  time  be  mountains  too  ?  The  heads  of  the  beast 
are  of  themselves  a  figurative  representation  of  certain  poli- 
tical powers  ;  and  it  would  be  a  singular  and  most  awkward 
sort  of  communication  to  employ  an  object  in  a  figurative 
Avay,  and  then  take  up  a  second  object  and  use  it  figuratively 
to  illustrate  the  first  figure  or  metaphor.  Such  a  compound 
mode  of  metaphorizing  would  be  a  departure  from  the  digni- 
ty and  style  of  the  proplietic  writings.  These  mountains 
must  have  some  other  reference — they  must  designate  some 
other  power  connected  with  the  interests  of  the  woman. 

The  woman  sitting  upon  the  beast  expresses  the  great 
power  the  church  exercised  over  the  empire  ;  but  when  she 
sits  upon  the  seven  mountains,  she  is  then  represented  in  her 
ecclesiastical  cliaracter,  only,  and  not  interfering  at  all  with 
the  j)oUtical  powers  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  that  the  angel  is  now  describ- 
ing Ijoth  the  woman,  which  represents  the  church,  and  the 


CHAPTER  XVIT.  99 

beast  which  represents  the  empire  ;  and  the  first  subject  of 
explanation  is  the  remarkable  coincidence,  or  resemblance 
between  the  two,  in  the  peculiar  mode  of  appointinjz:  their 
respective  heads.  It  is  not  necessary  to  reiterate  the  manner 
of  electing  the  imperial  head  of  the  empire — this  was  done  by 
the  electoral  college,  or  the  seven  heads  of  the  beast.  And 
when  the  angel  says  the  seven  heads  are  seven  mountains  on 
which  the  woman  sitteth,  he  means  to  inform  us  that,  cor- 
responding with  this  depository  of  the  power  to  select  the 
imperial  bead  of  the  empire,  there  is,  in  the  ecclesiastical 
constitution  of  the  church,  a  similar  power,  precisely  the  same 
in  number,  and  invested  with  the  high  prerogative  of  select- 
ing and  nominating  the  supreme  head  of  the  church. 

"Mountains  are  the  standing  metaphor  of  those  interests 
which  belong  exclusively  to  the  church,  when  she  is  treated 
of  in  her  abstract  character  ;  and  they  are  rarely  employed 
in  relation  to  anything  else,  except  where  they  are  used  to 
heighten  the  grandeur  and  increase  the  sublimity  of  those 
scenes  in  prophetic  description,  which  shake  the  earth  with 
storms  of  divine  wrath.  The  institutions  alluded  to  by  the 
seven  mountains  are  described  by  Gibbon.  I  will  just  give 
his  own  account  of  them  and  then  proceed  to  remark  upon 
the  peculiar  phraseology  of  the  angel,  when  he  compares  the 
mountains  with  the  seven  heads. 

"  In  the  Christian  aristocracy,"  says  Gibbon,  "  the  princi- 
"  pal  members  of  the  clergy  still  formed  a  senate  to  assist 
"  the  administration,  and  to  supply  the  vacancy  of  the 
"  bishop.  Rome  was  divided  into  twenty-eight  parishes, 
"  and  each  parish  was  governed  by  a  cardinal-priest  or  presby- 
"  ter.  Their  number  was  enlarged  by  the  association  of 
"  tlie  seven  deacons  of  the  most  consideral)le  hosi)itals — 
"  the  seven  Palatine  Judges  of  the  Lateran,  and  some  dig- 
"  nitaries  of  the  church.  The  ecclesiastical  senate  was 
"  dh-ected  hy  the  seven  Cardinal  Bishops  of  the  Boman province. 
"  Their  respective  dioceses  were  :  Ostia,  Porto,  Yelitra3, 
"  Tuscalum,   Brseneste,    Tibur,   and  the  Sabines.     On    the 


100  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

"  deatli  of  the  Pope,  these  bishops  recommended  a  successor  to 
"  the  suffrage  of  the  College  of  Cardinals.^'' 

These  seven  dioceses  were  the  seven  mountains  spoken  of 
bv  the  anu'cl.  The  woman  sat  on  these,  inasmuch  as  each 
successive  head  of  the  church  was  originated  by  them,  and 
they  rescmhled,  in  this  respect,  the  seven  heads  of  the  beast — 
the  seven  electorates,  whose  voice  gave  the  imperial  head  to 
the  empire. 

The  angel  says  the  seven  heads  are  seven  mountains,  on 
which  the  woman  sitteth  ;  but,  as  before  remarked,  these 
could  not  be  both  heads  and  mountains  at  the  same  time. 
AVe  are,  therefore,  under  the  necessity  of  supposing  that  the 
angel  is  making  a  comparison,  and  means  that  the  seven  heads 
of  the  beast  resemble  the  seven  mountains  ;  or,  to  speak 
without  the  use  of  the  figure,  the  seven  electors  who  appoint 
the  emperor  correspond  with  the  seven  bishops  by  whom  the 
Pope  is  nominated  to  the  ecclesiastical  senate. 

The  saying  of  the  angel,  that  the  seven  heads  are  seven 
mountains,  is  the  constant  mode  used  by  scripture-writers 
when  they  speak  of  the  resemblance  of  one  thing  to  another. 
The  Scriptures  do  not  say  of  a  thing  that  it  resembles  or  re- 
presents another  thing  ;  but  its  language  is  almost  uniformly 
of  a  positive  character  :  thus,  I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the 
branches  ;  I  am  the  Shepherd,  ye  are  the  sheep. 

The  explanation  given  by  Joseph  of  Pharaoh's  dream,  is  a 
striking  instance  of  this  peculiar  manner  of  speaking.  And 
Joseph  said  unto  Pharaoh,  the  seven  good  kine  are  seven  years  ; 
and  the  seven  good  ears  are  seven  years.  And  the  seven  thin  and 
ill-favored  kine  that  came  up  after  them  are  seven  years  ;  and  the 
seven  empty  ears,  Hasted  with  the  east  wind,  shall  be  seven  years 
of  famine. 

These  examples  are  sufficient  to  show  that  the  angel,  in 
this  instance  of  the  heads  and  the  mountains,  was  instituting 
a  com|)arison  ])etween  the  two,  merely  as  a  remarkable  coin- 
cidence in  the  manner  of  appointing  the  respective  heads  of 
the  two  greatest  powers  of  Europe  in  that  day,  the  emperor 


CHAPTER  XVri.  101 

iind  tlie  Pope  ;  and  thus,  also,  the  surprising  exactness  witli 
v.hicli  prophecy  delineates  the  events  of  the  world  a  thousand 
years  and  more  before  they  transpire. 

The  angel  next  proceeds  to  explain  the  political  character 
of  the  beast.  Beginning  at  the  tenth  verse,  he  says.  And 
there  are  seven  liwgs. 

That  the  angel  is  not  speaking  of  individual  sovereigns  is 
quite  obvious,  for  it  is  impossible  that  this  empire  could  have 
been  ruled  by  seven  monarchs  at  one  time  ;  and  it  is  quite  as 
certain  that  the  explanation  would  have  no  meaning  in  it  if 
we  attempt  to  apply  it  to  the  number  of  emperors  who  had 
reigned  previous  to  the  period  of  the  vision  ;  for  the  number 
is  far  greater  than  that  named  by  the  angel. 

The  meaning  of  the  angel  can  be  nothing  else  than  this : 
that  within  the  German  Empire  were  comprised  seven  prin- 
cipal kingdoms  or  powers,  all  ambitious  of  the  honor  of  fur- 
nishing the  imperial  head  of  the  empire.  These  were,  proba- 
bly, France,  Spain,  Austria,  Hungary,  Bohemia,  Poland, 
and  Prussia.  Although  Austria  and  Prussia  were  later 
than  the  others  in  assuming  the  full  form  of  kingdoms, 
nevertheless  they  were,  in  their  earlier  state  of  dukedoms, 
in  a  position  to  contend  Avith  the  other  kingdoms  for  the 
honor  of  furnishing  the  imperial  head,  just  as  much  as  they 
were  when  at  a  subsequent  period  they  enlarged  their 
political  power,  and  took  the  title  of  kingdoms.  The 
angel  is  predicting  the  history  of  the  empire  as  well  as 
describing  its  political  character,  and  he  announces  that  this 
struggle  for  the  imperial  honor  will  end  in  the  triumph  of  ove 
of  those  kingdoms  over  all  the  rest  in  fixing  the  succession  of 
the  emperors  within  itself.  This  prediction  was  literally  ful- 
filled by  the  imperial  dignity  becoming  hereditary  in  the 
House  of  Austria.  Frederick  III.  of  Austria  was  elected 
emperor  in  1439  ;  and  since  that  period,  says  the  historian, 
the  imperial  dignity  has  been  hereditary  in  the  House  of  Aus- 
tria. 

Of  these  seven  kings,  the  angel  says  five  are  fallen  ;  and 


102  TIIF:  ATOCALYrSE  UNVEILED. 

one  is,  and  the  other  is  not  yet  come.  The  five  kingdoms  re- 
presented as  fallen,  were  fallen  only  so  far  as  the  right  to 
furnish  the  head  of  the  empire  is  concerned.  They  never  after 
tliat  period  furnished  the  imperial  head  of  the  empire  ;  that 
honor  was  enjoyed  entirely  by  the  House  of  Hapsburgh  or 
Austria.  And  it  was  this  kingdom  of  Austria  the  angel  re- 
fers to  when  he  says,  and  one  is — that  is,  one  of  the  seven. 
The  sixth  now  exercises  imperial  authority,  and  will  continue 
to  do  so — the  first  five  having  fallen — until  the  other,  the 
seventh,  shall  come.  This  seventh  king  was  France  ;  and  it 
is  said,  when  he  cometh  he  must  continue  a  short  space.  But 
what  he  did  is  stated  in  the  eleventh  verse  :  And  the  least 
that  icas,  and  is  7iot,  even  he  is  the  eighth,  and  is  of  the  seven, 
and  goeth  into  perdition. 

This  is  France  in  the  character  of  the  beast,  referred  to  in 
the  eighth  verse,  Avhere  it  is  said  he  should  ascend  out  of  the 
bottomless  pit,  and  go  into  perdition. 

The  bottomless  pit  infallibly  connects  France  with  the 
power  spoken  of.  It  was  from  the  pit  of  her  revolution — 
from  that  abyss  of  blood  and  anarchy,  that  the  beast  made 
his  second  appearance  as  an  eighth  power. 

This  two-fold  numerical  feature  of  the  last  kingdom  is  very 
remarkable,  and  adds  another  surprising  instance  of  the  pre- 
cision with  wliicii  the  finger  of  prophecy  points  to  the  most 
minute  events  in  the  history  of  the  world's  future. 

The  explanation  of  the  seventh  king,  which  also  became 
an  eighth  power,  is  this  :  France,  that  is,  the  old  French  na- 
tion, was  one  of  the  seven  kings  or  kingdoms.  She  was  not 
amongst  the  five  kings  who  had  fallen,  but  was  the  last  one 
which  Iiad  not  then  come. 

After  her  revolution  this  seventh  power  assumed  imperial 
dominion,  entirely  absorbing  the  whole  Germanic  empire, 
and  establishing  a  new  and  far  more  splendid  and  powerful 
one  ui)on  its  ruins.  This  was  a  new  form  of  power,  coming 
out  of  the  old  French  kingdom  ;  it  was  the  seventh  kingdom, 
rising  into  imperial  grandeur  and  magnificence  ;  in  which  it 


CHAPTER  XYII.  103 

so  far  surpassed  the  old  kingdom  of  France,  that  it  was  dis- 
tinguished by  the  angel  with  a  se})arate  and  distinct  numer- 
ical feature  above  and  beyond  all  others.  It  was  of  the  seven, 
but  became  an  eighth  power  ;  it  was  the  old  kingdom  of 
France,  rising  to  an  empire  of  splendor  and  renown. 

The  angel  says,  of  this  eighth  power  :  A.nd  when  he  comelh 
he  must  continue  a  short  space.  How  true  are  all  the  sayings 
of  this  wonderful  prophecy  I 

When  Buonaparte  had  established  himself,  and  restored 
the  nation  to  order,  after  the  storm  of  the  revolution,  he  saw 
the  German  empire  in  the  hands  of  Francis  II.  of  the  house 
of  Austria.  In  1806  he  took  it  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
Austrian  ;  corrected  its  awkward  deformities,  and  blending 
it  with  the  other  kingdoms  of  Europe,  he  raised,  before  the 
gaze  of  the  astonished  world,  the  French  empire,  unrivalled 
in  power,  and  unequalled  in  grandeur. 

From  whatever  point  the  eye  of  the  politician  looked  upon 
this  great  empire,  he  saw  in  it  invincible  power,  and  unlim- 
ited duration.  But  the  voice  of  prophecy  had  declared, 
seventeen  centuries  before  this  empire  existed,  that  it  should 
continue  but  a  short  space  ;  and,  in  less  than  ten  years  from 
the  period  of  its  origin,  this  vast  creation  of  human  genius — 
the  greatest  combination  of  civil  and  military  power  the 
world  ever  saw,  was  conquered  and  taken  to  pieces,  and  the 
kingdoms  and  powers  which  formed  its  majestic  structure, 
again  resumed  their  separate  national  identity  and  existence. 
As  if  to  show  the  nations  of  the  earth  that  their  mightiest 
monarchies  are  but  chaff  when  God  blows  upon  them,  this 
formidable  empire  sunk  and  disappeared  from  the  gaze  of 
the  world,  as  entirely  as  its  great  head  did,  when  he  was  ban- 
ished to  the  lonely  island  of  St.  Helena. 

Thus  the  empire  which  arose  with  Charlemagne,  and  con- 
tinued to  over-ride  Europe  under  its  German  form,  until,  sud- 
denly as  it  were,  in  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
it  burst  upon  the  world  again  with  astonishing  magnili- 
cence,  under  the  authority  of  France,  the  same  nation  that 


104  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

originated  it  a  thousand  years  before,  now  comes  to  an 
irreparable  end  ;  as  the  angel  says — goes  into  perdition — 
meets  its  final  overthrow.  There  has  been  no  such  empire 
in  Europe — no  such  formidable  array  of  military  power,  as 
this  French  empire,  since  its  overthrow  ;  nor  will  there  ever 
be  again,  while  the  truth  of  Christian  prophecy  remains — 
which  consigned  this  empire  to  perdition. 

The  angel  continues  his  explanations.  In  the  12th  verse, 
be  says  :  And  the  ten  horns  ichich  thou  saicesf  are  ten  kings, 
which  have  no  kingdom  as  yet ;  hut  receive  power  as  kings  one 
hour  icith  the  least. 

This  part  of  the  explanation  takes  us  back  to  the  early 
days  of  the  scarlet-colored  beast,  when  all  the  kingdoms  of 
Europe  were  pretty  much  under  the  dominion  of  the  woman 
who  sat  upon  the  beast.  These  ten  horns  were  so  many 
sovereignties  not  under  the  same  relation  to  the  empire 
as  the  seven  heads  were  ;  they  received  power  as  kings  one 
hour  with  the  beast ;  that  is,  they  exercised  a  power  inde- 
pendent of  the  emperor — moved  in  a  circle  exclusively  their 
own  ;  but  still,  as  tlie  13th  verse  says  :  these  have  one  mind  ; 
and  shall  give  their  power  and  strength  unto  the  beast.  14th 
verse  :  these  shall  make  tear  with  the  Lamb  and  the  Lamb  shall 
overcome  them,  ^-c.  This  explains  what  is  meant  by  having 
one  mind,  and  giving  their  power  and  strength  unto  the  beast 
— they  united  their  power  with  the  imperial  power  in  oppos- 
ing the  Reformation — in  making  war  with  the  Lamb. 

But  in  the  progress  of  the  Reformation,  these  powers,  or 
horns,  became  converted  from  the  Romish  to  the  Protestant 
religion,  and,  as  the  angel  says,  in  the  16th  verse,  they  turned 
their  hostility  against  the  woman  ;  tliey  are  represented  in 
the  strong  figurative  language  of  the  prophecy,  as  hating 
the  woman  and  making  her  desolate  and  naked,  and  as  eating 
her  flesh,  and  burning  her  with  fire  ;  expressions  which 
imi)ly  a  strong  and  unwavering  purpose  to  subdue  and 
annihilate  the  object  or  thing  which  has  produced  the 
hostility.     The  costly  and    magnificent    drapery  with  which 


CHAPTER  XVII.  105 

the  woman  is  adorned  will  be  torn  off;  her  supporters 
and  admirers  will  forsake  her  ;  she  will  be  left  desolate  and 
naked  ;  tlie  powers  that  have  n[)held  her  will  turn  from  her, 
and  she  will  thus  be  reduced  to  a  condition  of  heli)les3 
wretchedness.  Eating  her  flesh,  is  that  figurative  expression 
of  a  dead  carcase  thrown  out  for  the  fowls  of  the  air  to 
feed  upon  ;  a  thing  not  only  worthless,  as  having  no  vitality 
in  it,  but  also  disgusting  and  offensive  :  a  dead  carcase  given 
to  birds  and  beasts  of  prey. 

Burning  her  with  fire  signifies  the  particular  means  by 
which  this  desolation  of  the  woman  will  be  chiefly  brought 
about — wars  and  revolutions.  Her  strong  fortresses  of  politi- 
cal power  will  be  fired  ;  the  despotic  governments  of  Europe 
that  constitute  her  defence  will  ))e  overthrown  by  the  progress 
of  enlightened  and  liberal  principles.  Every  fresh  revolution, 
having  for  its  object  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  people, 
will  serve  to  burn  away  the  props  which  uphold  ecclesiastical 
as  well  as  civil  despotism. 

These  reverses  began  sensibly  to  shake  the  dominion  of  the 
woman,  even  in  the  reign  of  Charles  Y.  During  his  reign, 
half  of  Germany,  as  well  as  much  of  the  population  of  the 
countries  on  the  continent,  together  with  England  and  Scot- 
land, began  to  assail  the  errors  and  expose  the  corruptions 
of  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  powerful  arguments  and  ap- 
peals of  the  reformers  uncovered  the  deformities  of  the  wo- 
man, and  exposed  her  nakedness  to  the  world.  The  French 
Revolution  and  its  subsequent  events  carried  the  assaults  upon 
her  still  further,  and  began  to  eat  her  flesh  ;  while  the  pre- 
sent age  is  ever  and  anon,  by  the  outburst  of  revolutionary 
struggles,  giving  signs  of  the  burning  which  is  finally  to  con- 
sume the  whole  system  by  the  overthrow  of  all  despotic  gov- 
ernments. The  aim  and  ultimate  purpose  of  Christianity,  in 
what  it  is  to  accomplish  even  in  the  present  world,  demands 
the  entire  freedom  of  the  human  mind.  Every  shackle, 
whether  civil  or  religious,  that  binds  down  the  mind  of  man  to 

VOL.  II. — 5* 


106  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

a  state  below  its  proper  destiny,  will  inevitably  be  torn 
away. 

There  are  two  explanations  made  by  the  angel  yet  to  be 
noticed. 

In  the  first  verse  of  this  chapter  he  calls  the  attention  of 
the  prophet  to  the  woman  sitting  upon  many  waters  ;  and  in 
the  fifteenth  verse  he  informs  him  that  these  waters  represent 
peoples  and  multitudes,  and  nations  and  tongues.  And 
finally,  in  the  concluding  verse  of  the  chapter,  the  angel  de- 
clares that  the  woman  is  that  great  city  which  reigneth  over 
the  kings  of  the  earth.  No  one  can  be  at  a  loss  to  know  what 
church  is  here  meant.  The  city  and  the  woman  are  mere 
symbols,  the  thing  meant  is  a  church.  And  the  church  that 
has  reigned  over  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  extended  her 
power  over  peoples,  and  multitudes,  and  nations,  and  tongues, 
is  the  woman  of  the  seventeenth  chapter  of  the  Apocalypse. 

The  c>})lauations  of  the  angel  close  with  this  chapter,  and 
the  prophet  resumes  the  narrative  of  his  visions. 

In  the  succeeding  chapter  we  shall  be  entertained  with  a 
very  vivid  picture  of  the  actual  effects,  which  were  foretold 
by  the  angel,  as  the  consequence  of  the  converson  of  the  ten 
horns.  In  short,  we  shall  see  the  wonderful  changes  which 
have  taken  place  in  the  civil  and  religious  world  since  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Reformation  has  pervaded  Europe,  down  to 
the  present  time,  and  what  yet  remains  to  be  accomplished 
in  its  future  history. 


CHAPTER  XYIIL 

THE  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  ART  OF  PRINTING,  AND  THE  DOWNFALL  OF 
BABYLON. 

The  preceding  chapter  presents  a  striking  picture  of  the 
control  which  the  church  exercised  over  the  kingdoms  of  Eu- 
rope at  the  commencement  of  the  Reformation,  and  the  per- 
secutions and  bloodshed  that  tried  the  faith  and  destroyed 
the  lives  of  multitudes  of  those  who  had  renounced  her  doc- 
trines, after  the  light  of  that  event  had  imparted  the  true 
knowledge  of  Christianity. 

This  power  of  the  church  grew  out  of  the  practice  of  the 
emperors — first  the  French,  and  afterwards  the  German — of 
receiving  their  crowns  from  the  Pope. 

This  was  at  first  a  mere  ceremony,  condescended  to  as 
complimentary  of  the  Pope  ;  but  the  practice,  by  usage,  at 
length  acquired  the  force  of  law,  and  the  kings  and  emperors 
who  did  not  acknowledge  the  paramount  authority  of  the 
Pope,  were  made  to  hear  and  to  feel  the  thunders  of  the 
Vatican. 

When  kings  bowed  before  this  authority,  what  else  could 
their  subjects  do  but  render  like  homage  to  it,  and  honestly 
believe,  too,  that  all  power,  whether  of  a  heavenly  or  earthly 
nature,  must  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Pope. 

This  was  the  moral  night  of  the  world,  and  so  it  would 
have  remained,  waxing  darker  and  darker  to  this  day,  if  its 
gloom  had  not  been  penetrated  by  the  light  of  the  Reforma- 
tion and  the  poweiM)f  the  press. 

The  preaching  alone  of  Luther  and  Zuinglius  and  their 
fellow-laborers,  would  have  effected  l)ut  little  in  the  way  of  pull- 


108  TTIE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

ing  down  the  tlirones  of  error  and  superstition,  if  their  efforts 
liad  not  been  assisted  by  the  art  of  printing.  The  press  be- 
came the  great  engine  of  spreading  light  amongst  the  people. 

Tile  discovery  of  the  art  of  printing  preceded  the  rise  of 
the  Reformation,  as  it  was  proper  it  should  do.  Before  it 
could  be  fully  prepared  for  the  great  work  it  had  to  do,  it 
had  to  undergo  many  changes  and  improvements  ;  it  had  to 
construct  its  presses,  prepare  and  perfect  its  types,  and  ac- 
quire a  facility  in  using  them,  so  as  to  secure  despatch  and 
accuracy.  The  labor  of  improving  this  wonderful  engine  of 
si)reading  knowledge  was  going  on  for  nearly  half  a  century 
before  the  Reformation  took  the  stand  which  required  its  ac- 
tive assistance. 

Luther  had  only  disturbed  the  slumbers  of  the  Witten- 
bcrgers,  to  whom  he  first  denounced  the  errors  of  his  own 
church,  and  preached  a  better  gospel  than  Rome  promul- 
gated. But  the  time  soon  after  arrived  when  the  long  and 
deep  sleep  of  the  world  was  to  be  broken.  The  voice  of  the 
gospel  was  heard,  in  the  language  of  one  of  old,  crying  to  the 
people,  awake  thou  that  steepest,  and  Christ  shall  give  thee  light. 
The  doctrines  of  the  Reformation  were  spread  amongst  the 
people,  by  means  of  printing,  to  an  extent  that  they  never 
could  have  been  without  its  co-operation.  These  two  instru- 
mentalities of  publishing  to  the  world  the  true  religion,  in 
their  harmonious  action  have  produced  the  great  light  re- 
ferred to  in  the  text  :  A^id  the  earth  was  lightened  with  his 
glory. 

This  glory  comprehends  more  than  spreading  a  pure  Chris- 
tianity, although  this  is  its  greatest  excellency.  But  the  arts 
and  sciences  also  have  risen  to  a  perfection  and  permanency 
which  they  probably  never  would  have  attained  without  the 
power  of  this  angel.  The  fact  is  plain  before  the  eyes  of  the 
world,  tliat  the  arts  and  sciences,  as  well  as  government,  and 
whatever  tends  to  improve  the  condition  of  man  and  propiote 
liis  happiness,  are  in  a  state  of  improvement  and  perfection 
in  those  countries  where  a  free  press  and  a  free  religion  ex- 


CHAPTER  XYIII.  109 

ist,  to -a  degree  greatly  in  advance  of  those  countries  where 
the  freedom  of  both  is  restrained. 

These  typos,  small  and  insignificant  as  they  appear  to  be, 
are  the  most  powerful  agents  in  the  world  in  overthrowing 
kingdoms  and  empires.  They  are  more  dreaded  by  the  des- 
pots of  the  earth  than  gunpowder  and  cannon-balls  ever 
were. 

The  angel,  described  by  the  prophet  in  this  chapter,  is  the 
art  of  'printing,  in  the  full,  free,  and  unrestrained  exercise  of 
its  powers. 

1.  And  after  these  things  I  saw  another  angel  come  down 
from  heaven,  having  great  power  ;  and  the  earth  was  lightened 
with  his  glory. 

2.  And  he  cried  mightily  with  a  strong  voice,  saying,  Babylon 
the  great  is  fallen,  is  fallen,  and  is  become  the  habitation  of  de- 
vils, and  the  hold  of  every  foul  spirit,  and  a  cage  of  every  un- 
cJeaii  and  foul  bird. 

3.  For  all  nations  have  drunk  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  her 
fornication,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth  have  committed  fornica- 
tion ivith  her,  and  the  merchants  of  the  earth  are  waxed  rich 
through  the  abundance  of  her  delicacies. 

We  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  prophet  confined  himself 
to  the  order  of  events,  as  they  occurred  at  successive  periods 
of  time,  when  he  says  :  And  after  these  things  I  saw  another 
angel,  S^-c,  as  if  that  which  he  now  speaks  of  had  not  existed 
until  all  the  events  previously  noticed  had  transpired. 

When  he  says,  after  these  things,  he  means  after  these  reve- 
lations there  was  another  revelation  made  to  me,  in  which  I 
saw  another  angel  come  down  from  heaven.  lie  could  not 
tell  everything  at  once,  even  if  we  suppose  that  the  world's 
whole  future  had  been  thrown  open  to  his  view^  at  one  time. 
He  has  just  finished,  or  rather  the  angel  has  just  concluded 
his  explanation  of  the  great  civil  and  ecclesiastical  power  of 
Europe  in  combination,  and  traced  them  down  to  their  over- 
throw and  extinction  ;  and  he  now^  gives  us,  in  the  vision  of 
this  chapter,  the  agencies  which  have  been  chiefly  instrumen- 


110  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

tal  in  producing  their  overthrow,  which  was  the  angel  that 
he  now  speaks  of. 

The  Apocalypse,  now  freed  from  the  particular  line,  or 
succession  of  events,  which  had  previously  controlled  its  vis- 
ions, opens  to  the  view  of  the  prophet  in  a  promiscuous  way, 
several  important  events  which  have  aided  in  producing  the 
great  changes  in  civil  and  religious  governments,  noticed  in 
the  preceding  chapter. 

The  angel  cannot  be  said  to  symbolize  the  Reformation  ; 
for  the  Reformation  was  nothing  more  than  the  revival  or 
reapi^earance  of  what  had  been  well-known  to  the  world 
long  before. 

Christianity  was  no  stranger  to  the  world  ;  it  had  lived 
and  prevailed  almost  fifteen  hundred  years  before  this  angel 
made  his  appearance.  It  had  survived  the  destruction  of 
the  nation  that  gave  it  birth,  and  afterwards  conquered  the 
Roman  empire  in  its  religion,  the  very  power  which  had  de- 
stroyed the  nation  from  which  Christianity  sprung. 

But  the  art  of  printing  was  a  new  thing  in  the  world.  It 
had  never  been  known  to  men  before  the  fifteenth  century. 
It  came  just  at  the  time  its  services  were  needed.  It  came 
just  when  Christianity  recommenced  its  great  struggle  with 
the  powers  of  the  world,  and  the  darkness  that  covered  the 
minds  of  the  people.  This  was  the  torch  which  Christianity 
seized,  and  by  its  light  illumined  the  dark  places  of  the  earth; 
and,  to  use  a  figure  familiar  to  us  all  in  the  present  day — the 
art  of  printing  is  the  great  steam-engine  upon  which  Christi- 
anity over-rides  and  prostrates  the  institutions  of  superstition 
and  despotism. 

And  the  earth  was  lightened  with  his  glory.  The  power  of 
printing  has  forced  the  light  of  civilization,  and  improved 
man's  political  and  religious  condition,  even  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth. 

The  proper  liberty  of  man  does  not  depend  so  nmch  upon 
any  j)articular  form  of  government,  as  upon  the  principles  of 
liis  government.     Safe  and  permanent  liberty  is  based  upon 


CHAPTER  XYIII.  m 

the  revealed  word  of  God  ;  and  whatever  nation  takes  this 
for  the  model  of  its  government,  and  conforms  its  laws  with 
this  revealed  will,  cannot  fail  to  enjoy  that  liberty  which  is 
most  consistent  with  the  happiness  of  man.  Tliis  truth  is 
laid  down  amongst  those  axioms  by  which  our  Savior  de- 
scribes the  true  liberty  of  man :  If  the  Son  shall  make 
you  free,  ye  shall  be  free  indeed.  This,  like  most  of  the  great 
principles  of  the  moral  government  of  God,  is  alike  applica- 
ble to  nations  and  individuals. 

This  angel  introduces  the  era  of  a  great  conflict — the 
powers  of  truth  with  the  powers  of  error.  Christendom  was 
then  under  the  dominion  of  a  false  and  superstitious  religion. 
Man  was  under  the  worst  kind  of  bondage.  His  mind  was 
imprisoned  by  a  religious  system  which  opposed  light,  and 
maintained  itself  by  cruelty  instead  of  revelation. 

The  angel  introduces  an  antagonistic  power — the  power  of 
enlightening  men.  Between  these  powers  there  was  of  neces- 
sity a  desperate  struggle.  The  result  of  this  struggle  is  an- 
nounced at  the  same  time  that  the  cause  of  it  is  announced, 
which,  by  its  gradual  operation,  is  to  produce  this  result — 
Babylon  the  great  is  fallen,  fallen !  This  great  world-wide 
system  of  religious  oppression  is  termed  Babylon  the  great, 
which  connects  it  with  the  woman  of  the  seventeenth  chap- 
ter, that  being  one  of  the  distinguishing  titles  written  upon 
her  forehead.  This  name  is  derived  from  the  stern  and  un- 
relenting dominion  over  the  minds  of  men,  which  was  the 
peculiar  characteristic  of  the  church  of  that  day  ;  a  shivery 
infinitely  more  cruel  and  debasing  than  the  bondage  of  tiie 
body. 

The  angel  cries  with  a  loiid  voice,  signifying  the  vast  con- 
sequences of  its  triumph — Babylon  is  fallen;  and,  as  if  to 
make  the  declaration  more  emphatic,  he  repeats — is  fallen! 

The  blows  which  Luther,  and  Zuinglius,  and  their  co- 
workers in  the  Reformation,  dealt  to  this  gigantic  power, 
and  which  have  been  followed  up  with  increasing  force  and 
frequency  by  the  power  and  light  of  this  angel,  have  caused 


112  THE  ArOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

it  to  totter  and  yield,  until  this  very  Babylon,  which  for 
merly  uttered  its  voice,  and  the  thrones  of  P^urope  trem- 
bled, now  requires  the  bayonets  of  Austria  and  France  to 
protect  its  trembling-  shadow  of  power,  and  to  uphold  its 
dying  authority,  even  in  Rome  itself.* 

The  prophet  announces  this  downfall  of  Babylon  as  the 
grand  climax  of  the  glory  of  this  angel.  But  he  now  pro- 
ceeds to  things  more  particular  :  And  is  become  the  habitation 
of  devils,  and  the  hold  of  every  foul  spirit,  aiid  a  cage  for  every 
unclean  and  hatefid  bird. 

The  meaning  of  this  description  of  her  moral  character,  is 
not  that  she  has  become  thus  corrupt  and  vicious,  since  this 
angel  came  into  the  world,  but  that  these  traits  and  peculi- 
arities were  only  noio  made  manifest,  by  the  light  of  the 
angel.  The  true  character  of  this  spiritual  Babylon,  now 
comes  to  be  known  throughout  the  world,  by  the  spreading 
of  the  knowledge  of  gospel  truth,  by  means  of  the  art  of 
printing  ;  and,  for  the  want  of  this  facility,  she  had  kept 
her  dark  depravity  concealed  from  the  knowledge  of  man- 
kind in  all  previous  ages. 

This  much  the  prophet  says,  in  the  3d  verse  :  for  all  na- 
tions, not  having  the  means  of  fully  understanding  the  cor- 
ruptions and  abominations  of  the  church,  have  drunk  of  the 
icine  of  her  fornication,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth  have  com- 
mitted fornication  icith  her,  and  the  merchants  of  the  earth  are 
waxed  sick  through  the  abundance  of  her  delicacies. 

The  people  were  stupified  and  l)esotted  by  the  vicious 
teachings  of  their  spiritual  guides  ;  the  system  infected  its 
votaries  with  all  the  depravity  peculiar  to  itself,  and  the  po- 
litical powers  of  the  earth  rendered  a  blind  and  inftituated 
ol)edience  to  the  authority  of  the  Pope. 

The  mercliants  of  the  earth,  in  the  twenty-fifth  verse,  are 
styled  the  great  men  of  the  earth.  This  greatness  is  not  po- 
litical or  civil ;  neither  does  it  arise  from  that  importance 

*  1851. 


CHAPTER  XVIII.  113 

Aviiicli  8ne(xss  in  trade  gives  to  men  ;  ])ut  it  signifies  the  prc- 
eiuiiient  rank  and  honor,  above  all  other  men,  which  was 
conferred  upon  all  who  exercised  the  least  figment  of  antliority 
in  the  great  Babylonish  system.  Priests,  bisliops,  cardinals, 
and  Popes,  received  the  humblest  submission  and  most  servile 
adulation  of  the  people.  In  this  way,  the  property  and  the 
bodies  and  souls  of  deluded  votaries  were  at  the  command  of 
these  great  men  of  the  earth.  They  are  called  merchants  figu- 
ratively, because  they  traded  in  the  spiritual  treasures  of  the 
church.  They  sold  indulgences,  sold  deliverance  from  purga- 
tory, and  sold  heaven  itself.  It  is  not  surprising  that  these 
merchants  became  rich  men  as  well  as  great  men.  Their 
merchandize  became  very  desirable  in  the  eyes  of  the  people, 
and  no  price  could  be  too  exorbitant  for  such  inestimable 
treasures. 

As  the  Reformation  progressed  and  the  light  of  the  true 
religion  spread,  better  views  of  Christian  duty,  and  a  higher 
sense  of  religious  propriety,  would  necessarily  obtain  amongst 
men.  Almost  the  first  conviction  they  would  experience  un- 
der this  superior  light  would  be  the  danger  of  continuing  a 
connection  with  a  church  that  now  disclosed  such  a  state  of 
gross  immorality  as  that  described  in  the  second  verse.  Not 
only  must  men  renounce  the  false  teachings  of  their  former 
religion,  but  they  must  forsake  all  connection  with  it.  They 
must  not  remain  where  they  were,  for  evil  communications 
corrupt  good  manners,  in  a  religious  as  well  as  in  a  social 
state. 

Luther  had  no  intention  of  separating  from  the  Church  of 
Kome  when  he  first  assailed  its  errors.  His  object  went  no 
further  than  to  correct  its  errors  and  reform  its  doctrines. 
But  this  temporising  policy  would  not  answer.  The  old  sys- 
tem was  too  rotten  in  all  its  parts  to  adtnit  of  being  snccess- 
fuUy  repaired.  It  could  not  be  patched  into  strength  and 
usefulness  ;  it  must  be  abandoned  and  left  to  the  fate  de- 
nounced against  it  in  the  eighth  verse,  to  he  utterly  burned 
with  fire. 


114  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

The  religion  of  the  Reformation  could  not  associate  with 
the  old  system  of  superstition  and  corruption  ;  it  required  a 
new  system  adapted  to  its  purer  doctrines  and  its  more  holy 
faith.  This  is  expressed  by  the  voice  which  the  prophet 
heard  in  the  fourth  verse  : 

4.  And  I  heard  another  voice  from  heaven,  saying,  Come  out 
of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  be  not  partakers  of  her  sins,  and  that 
yc  receive  not  of  her  plagues  : 

5.  For  her  sins  have  reached  unto  heaven,  and  God  hath  re- 
membered her  iniquities. 

The  establishment  of  the  Protestant  Church  as  distinct 
from  the  Church  of  Rome,  illustrates  this  voice  and  conforms 
to  its  requirements.  The  doctrines  and  faith  of  the  Protes- 
tant religion  are  embodied  in  this  church,  and  are  placed  be- 
fore the  world  in  striking  contrast  to  popery,  that  all  may  see 
the  difference.  In  the  one,  the  world  beholds  the  light  and 
power  of  gospel  truth,  while  in  the  other  it  sees  nothing  but 
lifeless  ceremonies  and  blinding  superstition.  The  open  and 
daring  impieties  of  that  church,  it  is  said,  have  reached  unto 
heaven — have  towered  to  such  a  height  and  spread  to  such 
an  extent  that  all  the  world  may  see  them  ;  all  people  who 
sincerely  desire  to  know  the  truth  as  Christ  and  his  apostles 
have  proclaimed  it,  will  be  no  longer  in  any  danger  of  being 
led  astray  by  the  false  lights  of  a  corrupt  religion. 

The  true  gospel  church  being  now  fully  established,  and  its 
doctrines  generally  promulgated  by  means  of  the  art  of  print- 
ing, the  line  of  distinction  is  clearly  drawn  between  a  true 
and  a  false  Christianity,  and  the  remaining  portion  of  the 
chapter  now  under  consideration  is  employed  in  setting  forth 
the  various  circumstances  which  attend  the  gradual  decline 
and  final  suppression  of  the  authority,  and  even  the  name,  of 
the  "  Ajiostolic  Church." 

6.  Beward  her  even  as  she  rewarded  you,  and  double  unto  her 
double,  according  to  her  loorks  :  in  the  cup  which  she  hath  filled , 
Jill  to  her  double. 

7.  How  much  she  hath  glorified  herself,  and  lived  deliciously, 


CHAPTER  XYIII.  115 

so  much  torment  and  sorroio  give  her :  for  she  snith  in  her  hearty 
I  sit  a  queen,  and  am  no  iridow,  and  shall  see  no  sorrow. 

8.  Therefore  shall  her  plagues  come  in  07ie  day,  death,  and 
mourning,  and  famine  ;  and  she  shall  he  utterly  burned  icith 
fire  :  for  strong  is  the  Lord  God  who  judgeth  her. 

It  is  manifest  from  these  three  verses  that  alhision  is  had  to 
period  of  time  when  Protestantism  is  greatly  in  the  ascend- 
ant, and  when  she  has  it  in  her  power  to  deal  as  she  pleases 
with  the  rival  religion — her  old  adversary,  who,  when  in 
power,  practiced  upon  Protestantism  the  greatest  wrongs 
and  cruelties. 

But  we  must  not  suppose  that  anything  revengeful  or  vin- 
dictive is  inculcated  by  what  seems  to  be  a  command  to  re- 
taliate upon  her  the  inhumanity  of  her  own  former  course  of 
treatment  towards  Protestantism.  I  rather  consider  the 
meaning  of  these  verses  to  be,  that  as  the  political  powers 
that  once  executed  the  bigoted  and  persecuting  decrees  of 
popery  against  Protestantism,  cruelly  oppressing  it,  and  de- 
nying it  those  political  advantages  which  were  enjoyed  by  the 
subjects  of  popery,  have  become  converted  to  the  new  reli- 
gion, and,  with  their  religious  conversion,  their  political 
measures  undergo  a  great  change,  and,  instead  of  exalting 
popery,  they  now  depress  it  ;  deny  it  those  privileges  which 
are  accorded  to  Protestantism,  and  allow  it  a  very  restricted 
participation,  if  any  at  all,  in  the  measures  of  the  govern- 
ment, not  admitting  it  to  the  councils  of  the  nation  ;  in 
short,  denying  it  the  exercise  of  any  of  those  public  functions 
appertaining  to  the  ministration  of  government. 

Such  a  course  of  treatment  as  this  must  be  humiliating  to 
Popery  in  the  last  degree,  and  torture  its  pride  beyond  en- 
durance :  Becatise  she  hath  glorified,  herself  and  lived  deliciously, 
saying  in  her  heart,  I  sit  a  queen,  and  am  no  widow,  and  shall 
see  no  sorrow.  To  fall  from  such  a  state  of  exalted  pride  and 
eminence,  to  one  of  obscurity  and  contempt,  would  be  indeed 
doubling  to  her  the  cup  of  shame  and  oppression,  which  she 
filled  for  Protestantism,  in  the  days  of  her  power  and  pride. 


1 1 6  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

The  torment  and  sorrow  of  such  a  fall,  grow  out  of  the  fact 
tiiat  this  apostate  religion  has  ever  boasted  of  its  supremacy 
over  all  earthly  powers,  sitting  upon  the  scarlet-colored  beast 
and  using  the  great  sword  of  civil  power  in  maintaining  its 
authority  over  the  world. 

As  Protestantism  was  gradual  in  its  rise  and  progress  in 
the  earth.  Popery  is,  likewise,  gradual  in  its  decline.  Very 
few  great  changes  in  the  world's  history  have  been  sudden. 
Providence  moves  by  deliberate  steps. 

The  declaration  that  her  plagues  shall  come  in  one  day, 
(8th  verse,)  by  no  means  signifies  that  Babylon  is  to  fall 
suddenly,  but  that  she  will  experience  the  effects  of  death, 
and  mourning  and  famine  in  one  day  ;  that  is,  three  different 
causes  of  her  declension  will  operate  at  the  same  time,  to 
produce  that  result. 

The  death,  may  refer  to  the  loss  of  her  temporal  power. 
Not  only  does  she  no  longer  reign  over  the  kings  of  the  earth, 
but  she  is  unaljle  to  keep  up  her  authority  at  home  without 
the  sword  of  foreign  powers. 

Mourning  would  naturally  follow  the  loss  of  her  great 
authority,  which  she  once  exercised  over  the  kings  of  the 
eartii,  and  famine  represents  the  loss  of  that  ailment  of  her 
existence,  which  she  once  derived  in  great  abundance  by  the 
sale  of  her  spiritual  merchandise  ;  but  which  trade  also 
ceases,  as  we  shall  })resently  see,  at  the  same  time  that  she 
is  feeling  the  severe  pressure  of  other  plagues  ;  and,  that  the 
destruction  may  be  complete  and  entire  it  is  added  :  And  she 
shall  he  utterly  burned  with  fire  !  for  strong  is  the  Lord  God 
vho  Judgcfh  her.  The  correspondence  between  this  8th  verse 
and  the  16th  verse  of  the  preceding  chapter,  is  striking.  In 
the  latter  it  is  said,  that  the  ten  kings  shall  make  her  deso- 
late and  naked,  and  shall  eat  her  flesh,  and  shall  burn  her 
with  fire  ;  in  the  8th  verse,  it  is  said  :  She  shall  be  utterly 
burned  with  fire,  for  strong  is  the  Lord  God  ivho  judgeth  her. 
Every  event,  therefore,  which  tends  to  destroy  this  Babylon, 


cuAPTKR  xvirr.  117 

and  banish  it  from  Cliristondom,  wc  may  Ijc  assured  is  under 
the  direction  of  the  Providence  of  God. 

Commentators  generally  agree  in  the  opinion,  that  this 
bui-ning  with  fire  refers  to  the  City  of  Rome ;  and  they  un- 
derstand it  literally.  But,  with  all  deference  to  their 
acknowledged  wisdom,  I  must  say,  I  cannot  perceive  how  a 
false  religion  is  to  be  overthrown  by  burning  down  one  city, 
or  a  hundred  cities.  If  Rome  were  burnt  dowr.,  Rome  could 
and  would  be  built  up  again  ;  and  what  would  be  gained  in 
the  way  of  destroying  Popery  ?     Just  nothing  at  all. 

This  burning  with  fire  is  a  figurative  mode  of  speech,  which 
implies  total  destruction  :  as  whatever  substances  fire  acts 
upon  are  entirely  destroyed  by  it.  We  shall  see  the  progress 
of  these  plagues,  and  of  this  burnhig,  in  the  subseqent  verses 
of  this  chapter. 

9.  And  the  kings  of  the  earth,  uho  have  committed  foniimtion 
and  lived  ddiciously  with  her,  shall  betvnit  her,  and  lament  foi' 
her,  when  they  shall  see  the  smoke  of  her  burning. 

10.  Standing  afar  off  for  the  fear  of  her  torment,  saying, 
Alas  !  alas  !  that  great  city  Babylon,  that  mighty  city  !  for  in 
one  hour  is  thy  judgment  come. 

These  verses  instruct  us  that  some  of  the  powers  of  Europe 
will  tenaciously  adhere  to  the  interests  of  Popery  through 
all  its  plagues  and  torments  ;  and  when  they  can  no  longer 
defend  her,  or  effectually  assist  her  cause,  they  will  bewail 
her  misfortunes,  and  lament  over  her  fall. 

This  is  altogether  a  political  scene.  It  is  not  a  religious 
grief  that  affects  those  kings  ;  their  sorrow  is  selfish  and 
political. 

While  the  kingdoms  and  governments  of  the  earth,  that 
are  in  the  Protestant  interest,  are,  by  the  influence  of  their 
enlightened  and  liberal  principles,  curtailing  the  power  of 
Popery — extending  the  area  of  freedom — the  kingdoms  which 
uphold  the  dominion  of  Rome,  are  exerting  themselves  to 
defend  and  maintain  her  authority. 

We  have  seen  a  recent  instance  of  this  in  the  effort  of 


J 18  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

Rome  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  oppression.  The  armies  of 
Austria  were  immediately  marched  to  the  support  of  the 
Pope,  and  France,  too,  with  a  view  to  her  future  policy, 
threw  her  legions  into  Rome,  for  the  same  purpose.  The 
political  world  stood  amazed  at  the  course  taken  by  France 
on  that  occasion,  but  now,  since  the  coup  d^etat  of  Louis 
Napoleon,  the  whole  matter  is  understood.  He  never  meant 
to  relinquish  his  rule  over  the  French  nation.  He  cared  not 
by  what  title  he  reigned,  republican  president,  or  emperor, 
were  both  the  same  to  him.  When  he  could  no  longer  rule 
as  President  of  France,  he  resolved  to  be  Emperor.  And 
he  knew,  and  so  did  Austria,  that  the  abject  submission  of 
the  subjects  of  the  Pope,  to  his  commands,  in  all  countries, 
was  a  better  guaranty  of  the  preservation  of  their  thrones 
than  the  mandates  or  the  sword  of  the  Emperor. 

When  the  power  of  the  king  failed  to  subdue  his  refrac- 
tory subjects,  the  dreaded  anathema  of  the  Pope  was  all- 
sufficient  for  that  purpose.  Austria,  as  she  is  the  most  des- 
potic, so  she  is  the  most  reliable  support  of  Popery  now  in 
Europe.  But  her  power  must  at  length  fail,  and  the  mu- 
tual support  of  each  other  will  cease  ;  then  will  the  great 
city  begin  rapidly  to  fall,  and  the  crash  of  her  ruin  will  be 
heard  throughout  the  nations,  and  the  smoke  of  her  burning 
will  ascend  before  the  eyes  of  all  the  world.  In  this  crisis 
of  her  calamity,  the  kings  of  the  earth  who  have  been  in 
league  with  her,  are  represented  as  standing  afar  off  for  the 
fear  of  her  torment,  saying,  alas,  alas!  &c. 

Standing  afar  off,  signifies  that  they  were  unable  to  render 
her  any  aid  ;  and  they  were  afraid  or  alarmed  at  her  tor- 
ment. They  beheld  the  chief  support  of  their  thrones  sink- 
ing under  the  progress  of  liberal  and  enlightened  Christianity, 
and  they  dreaded  the  effects  which  this  state  of  things  would 
produce  upon  their  own  subjects. 

The  authority  of  the  church  kept  their  subjects  in  submis- 
mission  more  effectually  than  the  sword  did,  and  when  they 
beheld  this  authority  sinking,  these  kings  stood  afar  off  and 


CHAPTER  XVIII.  119 

cried — Alas,  alas!  that  great  city  Babylon,  that  mighty  city  ! 
for  in  an  hour  is  thy  judgment  come. 

The  greatness  of  tins  city  consisted  in  tliis,  that  she  reigned 
over  the  kings  of  the  earth.  She  removeth  the  king  from 
his  throne  at  one  time,  and  at  another  she  dissolved  the 
allegiance  of  the  subjects  to  their  king 

How  manifest  are  the  operations  of  cause  and  effect, 
and  how  clearly  marked  is  the  hand  of  retributive  Pro- 
vidence in  this  picture  of  Babylon's  downfall. 

This  Apocalyptic  woman,  or,  in  other  words,  the  original 
Apostolic  Church,  lured  by  the  lust  of  power,  abandoned 
the  purity  of  her  primitive  character,  and  threw  herself 
into  the  arms  of  the  kings  of  the  earth.  Filled  with  pride 
and  ambition  from  this  anti-christian  connection,  she  assumed 
to  be  the  mistress  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  ;  she  put 
up  and  put  down  whom  she  would.  But  the  hour  of  her 
judgment  is  come,  and  she  falls,  and  her  fall  brings  down 
those  kings  who  courted  her  favors,  and  reveled  in  her 
pleasures. 

So  far  the  prophet  has  been  pointing  to  the  political 
effects  produced  by  the  fall  of  this  great  Babylon  ;  he  now 
discloses  its  consequences  upon  the  church  itself. 

11.  And  the  merchants  of  the  earth  shall  weep  and  mourn  over 
her;  for iw man  buyeth  their  merchandize  any  more: 

12.  The  merchandize  of  gold,  and  silver,  and  precious  stones, 
and  of  pearls,  and  fine  linen,  and  purple,  and  silk,  and  scarlet, 
and  all  thyine  wood,  and  all  manner  vessels  of  ivory,  and  all 
manner  vessels  of  precious  wood,  and  of  brass,  and  iron,  and 
marble. 

13.  And  cinnamon,  and  odors,  and  ointments,  and  franJdn- 
cense,  and  wine,  and  oil,  and  fine  flour,  and  wheat,  and  beasts, 
and  sheep,  and  horses,  and  chariots,  and  slaves,  and  souls  of 
men. 

14.  And  the  fruits  that  thy  soul  lusted  after  are.  departed 
from  thee,  and  thou,  shall  find  them  no  more  at  all. 

15.  The  merchants  of  these  things,  which  were  mnde  rich  by 


120  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

her,  shall  stand  afar  off  for  the  fear  of  her  torment,  weeping  and 
'Wailing, 

16.  A7id  saying,  Alas,  alas  !  that  great  city,  that  was  clothed 
in  fine  linen,  and  purple,  and  scarlet,  and  decked  with  gold,  and 
precious  stones,  and  pearls  ! 

17.  For  in  one  hour  so  great  riches  is  come  to  nought.  And 
every  shipmaster,  and  all  the  company  in  ships,  and  sailors,  and 
as  many  as  trade  by  sea,  stood  afar  off, 

18.  And  cried,  when  they  saw  the  smoke  of  her  burning,  say- 
ing. What  city  is  like  unto  this  great  city  ! 

19.  And  they  cast  dust  on  their  heads,  and  cried,  weeping  and 
wailing,  saying,  Alas,  alas  !  that  great  city  wherein  were  made 
rich  all  that  had  ships  in  the  sea  by  reason  of  her  costliness  !  for 
in  one  hour  is  she  made  desolate. 

Mourning  and  weeping  over  the  fall  of  the  great  city  by 
the  merchants  of  the  earth,  signify  the  privations  and  the 
poverty  which  are  consequent  upon  the  loss  of  their  trade, 
for  no  man  buyeth  their  merchandise  any  more. 

These  merchants  have  already  been  described  :  they  are  all 
those  who  trade  in  the  spiritual  advantages  of  the  church, 
and  who  live  in  ease  and  luxury  upon  the  superstition  of  her 
credulous  devotees. 

The  sale  of  indulgences,  absolution,  bones,  beads,  and 
scraps  of  old  garments — in  short,  everything  that  has  been 
made  sacred  by  the  touch  or  the  blessing  of  the  priest,  have 
contributed  to  enhance  the  luxury  of  the  sacred  order. 

But,  Ijesides  these,  the  deliverence  from  the  pains  of  pur- 
gatory is  another  source  of  immense  wealth  to  the  church. 
AYliat  a  vivid  description  of  this  trade  is  given  in  the  eleventh 
and  twelfth  verses — figuratively,  to  be  sure,  but  embracing 
everything  that  can  gratify  the  appetite  of  the  mind,  the  de- 
sire of  the  heart,  and  the  lust  of  the  affections,  of  man's  fallen 
and  corrupt  nature  I 

The  desire  of  wealth  for  the  purpose  of  ostentatious  dis- 
play, or  for  the  gratification  of  the  low  and  sordid  love  of 
riches,   was  met  by  the  license  of   the  indulgence,   which 


CHAPTER  XVIII.  121 

authorized  all  and  every  means  necessary  to  the  attainment 
of  the  thing  desired.  Whoever  purchased  an  indulgence  of  the 
proper  grade,  as  sold  by  Tetzel  and  others,  giving  a  suitable 
price  for  it,  was  fully  armed  with  authority  to  possess  himself 
of  riches  by  any  means.  In  proof  of  this,  this  merchant,  Tetzel, 
was  himself  wa3daid  and  robbed  of  the  treasure  which  he  had 
accumulated  by  the  sale  of  indulgences,  by  the  authority  of 
one  of  the  indulgences  which  he  had  sold  ! 

The  next  list  of  articles  which  might  be  purchased  from 
these  merchants,  imply  the  gratification  of  men's  tastes  for 
all  that  is  refined  or  elegant — the  most  luxurious  enjoyments 
of  pomp  and  pleasure.  These  are  expressed  by  the  costly 
purple,  and  silk,  and  scarlet,  and  those  substances  capable  of 
high  polish,  which  are  very  ornamental. 

Odoriferous  woods,  and  ointments,  and  rich  perfumes,  with 
wine,  and  oil,  and  fine  flour,  are  expressive  of  tlie  high  de- 
gree of  pride  and  luxury  which  was  enjoyed  by  the  trafiic  with 
these  merchants.  The  trade  descends  even. to  the  coarser 
articles  of  human  subsistence,  wheat,  beasts,  and  sheep.  Ev€u 
these  inferior  enjoyments  came  under  the  laws  of  the  mer- 
chants, and  in  some  way  were  taxed,  or  made  conducive  to 
the  gains  of  the  church.  The  list  concludes  with  horses  and 
chariots,  and  slaves,  and  souls  of  men.  This  last  description 
of  things  that  were  sold  by  these  merchants  of  tlie  earth, 
probably  have  reference  to  wars  and  conquests  of  whole  coun- 
tries, and  the  enslaving  of  their  inhabitants.  The  horse  and 
the  chariot  are  proper  emblems  of  ancient  warfare,  and 
slavery  became  the  condition  of  the  captives  in  those  olden 
times. 

The  crusades  were  commenced  and  carried  on  by  autliority 
of  these  merchants,  and  heathen  countries  were  conferred  by 
the  Pope  upon  their  conquerors. 

The  souls  of  men,  can  have  no  other  meaning,  in  connec- 
tion with  this  particular  exercise  of  the  power  of  these  mer- 
chants, than  the  natural  life  of  men  !  Even  the  lives  of  men 
were  subjects  of  their  trade  ;  and  to  what  a  horrible  extent 

VOL.  II. — 6 


122  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

this  part  of  their  trade  was  carried,  may  be  seen  by  any  who 
will  follow  the  blood-stained  track  of  the  Inquisition ! 

But  the  progress  of  the  Reformation,  with  its  increasing 
light  and  gospel  religion,  is  to  put  an  end  to  this  merchan- 
dizing. And  the  merchants  of  the  earth  shall  weep  and  mourn 
over  her ;  for  no  man  hiiyeth  their  merchandise  any  more!  like 
the  kings,  they  stand  afar  off,  for  the  fear  of  her  torment, 
making  dolorous  lamentations,  weeping  and  wailing,  saying — 
alas,  alas  !  that  great  city,  that  was  clothed  in  fine  linen, 
and  purple  and  scarlet,  and  decked  with  gold  and  precious 
stones,  and  pearls  I  This  description  of  the  great  city  is 
identical  with  the  woman  that  sat  upon  the  scarlet-colored 
beast.  They  are  both  synii)ols,  and  both  refer  to  the  Church 
of  Rome. 

This  chapter,  or  that  part  of  it  now  under  consideration, 
furnishes  a  striking  illustration  of  him  that  sat  upon  the 
black  horse,  with  the  balances  in  his  hand,  showing  off  the 
church  in  her  avaricious  spirit  of  merchandising.  And  it 
likewise  fulfills  the  prediction  of  St.  Paul,  when  he  warned 
the  church  that  she  would  apostatize,  and  that  her  leaders 
would  convert  her  into  a  great  bazaar — would  make  merchan- 
dise out  of  her. 

But,  in  proper  time,  by  the  unerring  hand  of  Providence, 
these  great  riches  will  be  brought  to  naught.  Yerse  17  : — 
And  every  shipmaster,  and  all  the  company  in  ships,  and  sailors, 
and  as  many  as  trade  by  sea,  stood  afar  off,  and  gave  similar 
signs  of  grief  saying,  Alas,  alas!  that  great  city,  wherein  were 
made  rich  all  that  had  ships  in  the  sea,  by  reason  of  her  costli- 
ness ;  for  in  one  hour  is  she  made  desolate. 

Neither  ships,  nor  the  sea,  literally,  are  intended,  but  are 
used  here  figuratively,  to  signify  the  great  extent  of  this 
city,  or  the  universality  of  this  religion,  which,  like  the  sea, 
extends  to  all  the  continents,  and  embraces  all  the  islands. 
Ships  and  sailors  are  used  to  complete  the  figure,  and  they 
imply  the  established  agencies  and  ecclesiastic  orders  in  dis- 
tant and  different  countries,  by  which  the  whole,  wide-ex- 


CHAPTER  XVIIL        .  X23 

tended  system  is  bound  together  in  one  church,  under  one 
supreme  head — the  Pope. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  great  extent  of  this  great  city, 
in  one  hour  she  is  made  desolate  I  meaning  not  in  one  coun- 
try, only,  but  everywhere  throughout  her  vast  dominion,  she 
will  fall  and  become  desolate. 

A  most  vivid  picture  of  the  desolate  condition  of  the  city 
is  presented  to  us  in  the  remaining  verses  of  the  chapter : 

20.  Rejoice  over  her,  thou  heaven,  and  ye  holy  apostles  and 
jprophets  ;  for  God  hath  avenged  you  on  her. 

21.  And  a  mighty  angel  took  up  a  stone  like  a  great  millstone, 
and  cast  it  into  the  sea,  saying,  Thus  with  violence  shall  that 
great  city  Babylon  he  throion  dow7i,  and  shall  he  found  no  more 
at  all. 

22.  And  the  voice  of  harpers,  and  ihusicians,  and  of  pipers, 
and  trumpeters,  shall  he  heard  no  more  at  all  in  thee  ;  and  no 
craftsman,  of  whatsoever  craft  he  he,  shall  he  found  any  more  in 
thee;  and  the  sound  of  a  millstone  shall  he  heard  no  more  at  all 
in  thee: 

23.  And  the  light  of  a  candle  shall  shine  no  more  at  all  in 
thee  ;  and  the  voice  of  the  bridegroom  and  the  bride  shall  he  heard 
no  more  at  all  in  thee :  for  thy  merchants  were  the  great  nien  of 
the  earth  ;  for  by  thy  sorceries  were  all  nations  deceived. 

24.  And  in  her  was  found  the  blood  of  prophets,  and  of 
saints,  and  of  all  that  was  slahi  upon  the  earth. 

The  fall  of  this  city  becomes  the  subject  of  rejoicing  to  all 
the  righteous.  Rejoice  over  her,  thou  heaven.  The  whole 
church,  embracing  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  of  Christ ; 
and  ye  holy  apostles  and  prophets  ;  none  of  whom  can  possi- 
bly be  alive  at  the  time  here  alluded  to.  The  meaning, 
therefore,  is:  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion  as  taught 
by  the  apostles  and  prophets,  is  now  triumphant,  and  have 
put  down  the  old  corrupt  system  of  Christianity,  by  which 
the  world  has  for  so  many  ages  been  kept  in  darkness  and 
error:  For  God  hath  avenged  you  on  her ;  he  has  crowned 
the  labors  and  sufferings  of  his  faithful  servants  with  a  com- 


124  THE  APOCALYPSE  UXYEILED. 

plete  triumph — the  triumph  of  truth  over  error — of  a  pure 
cvang-elicul  religion,  over  the  rehgion  of  superstition  and 
idolatry. 

And,  as  if  to  banish  from  the  minds  of  men,  all  idea  that 
this  false  system  of  Christianity  will  ever  recover  its  power 
and  influence  in  the  earth  ;  a  mighty  angel  is  represented  as 
casting  a  great  millstone  into  the  sea,  and  saying.  Thus  with 
great  riolence  shall  that  great  city,  Babylon,  be  thrown  doivn, 
and  shall  be  found  no  more  at  all. 

The  entire  system  of  this  Babylonish  religion  will  become 
as  completely  lost  from  the  notice  and  respect  of  men,  as  a 
mill-stone  is  lost  from  the  sight  when  it  is  cast  into  the  sea. 

No  pen  of  mere  human  genius  has  ever  sketched  such  a 
picture  of  the  loneliness,  the  solitude,  and  the  death-like  si- 
lence of  a  desolate  city,  as  that  which  is  given  by  the  pen  of 
inspiration  in  the  twenty-second  and  twenty-third  verses  of  this 
chapter.  Xo  comment  upon  them,  no  efifort  of  genius  or 
fancy  to  heigliten  or  improve  their  effect,  could  do  anything 
but  ofi'end  their  chaste  and  striking  simplicity,  and  impair 
the  awe  and  solemnity  with  which  they  inspire  us. 

The  cause  of  this  desolation  is  given  by  the  prophet  in 
these  words  :  For  by  thy  sorceries  were  all  nations  deceived. 

It  is  a  fearful  thing  for  either  individuals  or  a  church  to 
practice  deception,  for  desolation  is  the  infallible  consequence 
of  such  measures. 

The  concluding  verse  of  the  chapter  says  :  And  in  her  was 
found  the  blood  of  prophets,  and  of  saints,  and  of  all  that  were 
slain  upon  the  earth.  A  horrible  disclosure  this  is,  truly,  to 
be  made  by  the  history  of  a  church.  It  is  the  counterpart 
to  the  description  of  the  woman  in  the  sixth  verse  of  the  seven- 
teenth chapter  :  And  I  saw  the  woman  drmihen  with  the  blood 
of  the  saints,  and  with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus. 

And  this  is  the  church  through  which  the  right  to  admin- 
ister gospel  ordinances  must  come,  say  some  Protestant  di- 
vines. 

This  chapter  might  be  summarily  explained  by  referring  to 


CHAPTER  XVm.  125 

tlie  avarice,  the  luxury  and  deliaucliery,  the  gluttony,  vio- 
lence, rapine,  and  bloodshed,  which  distinguished  the  nations 
under  the  universal  rule  of  this  woman  previous  to  the  Refor- 
mation, and  since  its  influence  began  to  heal  the  moral  dis- 
eases of  those  nations. 

This  great  moral  distemper  was  not  checked,  but  rather 
increased,  by  the  system  of  compensation  for  crime,  and  the 
open  justification  of  it,  which  was  secured  by  the  authority 
of  an  "  indulgence."  These  are  some  of  the  first  fruits  which 
a  false  religion  must  always  bring  upon  men. 

When  the  teachings  of  a  church  fall  in  with  and  tolerate 
the  native  corruptions  of  the  human  heart,  there  is  no  room 
for  the  growth  of  any  virtuous  principle.  The  prophet  points 
out  the  apostasy  of  the  church,  most  distinctly,  in  this  chap- 
ter, and  we  must  rely  upon  history  for  an  explanation  of  his 
meaning. 

The  history  of  the  inquisition  is  directly  in  point  as  one 
branch  of  the  explanation.  The  scenes  in  Germany  and 
Switzerland  which  the  Reformation  gave  birth  to,  the  torrents 
of  blood  shed  by  France  and  Spain  all  over  Europe,  in  their 
efforts  to  extinguish  the  light  of  Protestantism,  bear  ample 
testimony  to  the  truth  of  prophecy,  and  show  the  controlling 
authority  with  which  the  woman  reigned  over  the  kings  of 
the  earth. 

A  spirit  the  most  revengeful  and  diabolical  often  betrayed 
itself  in  efforts  to  destroy  Protestantism.  Such  instances 
were  most  conspicuous  where  no  kingly  power  was  cmi>loyed, 
but  when  the  dominant  religion  of  the  day  sought  to  carry 
out  its  own  suggestions. 

Amongst  all  such  instances  there  was  none  that  equalled, 
in  cool,  deliberate  nnilice,  in  its  most  diabolical  form,  the  gun- 
powder plot.  The  placing  of  those  "  thirty-six  l)arrels  of  gun- 
"  powder  under  the  parliament-house  of  England,  with  trains 
"  and  matches  all  prepared,  to  blow  up  the  king  and  his  par- 
"liament,"  was  a  scheme  of  wickedness  which  coukl  have  ori- 
ginated only  in  the  mind  of  a  demon.     Even  to  this  distant 


126  THE  ArOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

day,  the  thought  of  such  a  horrible  act  of  murderous  bigotry 
as  was  well  nigh  being  perpetrated  makes  the  mind  shudder, 
while  it  shows  an  extraordinary  instance  of  the  superintend- 
ing care  of  Providence  over  the  nation  appointed  to  be  the 
guardian-angel  of  the  Protestant  religion. 

This  gunpowder  plot  and  other  exhibitions  of  cruelty  and 
bloody  persecution,  done  in  the  name  of  religion,  in  past 
ages,  are  referred  to  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  show  how 
truly  the  mirror  of  prophecy  reflected  events  which  would  oc- 
cur in  the  lapse  of  many  centuries.  The  religion  that  gave  its 
sanction  to  such  deeds  of  horror  was  the  religion  of  a  dark 
age.  It  had  its  origin  in  worldly  ambition,  and  its  grow^th 
was  in  the  soil  of  ignorance  and  superstition.  Such  were  its 
necessary  tendencies  and  its  peculiarities.  A  morose  and 
malignant  temper  was  engendered  by  the  solitude  and  se- 
clusion of  the  cloister.  The  monkish  cell  was  no  place  for 
the  exercise  of  those  noble  and  generous  sympathies  w'hich 
belong  to  the  Christian  religion.  Its  field  of  action  is  the 
wide  world,  and  the  objects  of  its  heavenly  charities  are  the 
erring  and  wandering  children  of  earth. 

When  the  light  of  the  Reformation  appeared,  popery  put 
in  motion  every  engine  of  its  power  to  extinguish  it. 

The  recovery  and  improvement  of  the  human  mind,  after 
it  has  been  for  a  long  time  habituated  to  darkness  and  error, 
and  to  raise  it  to  the  high  and  enlightened  state  of  which  it  is 
ca})al)le,  is  the  work  of  time  and  labor.  This  is  strikingly 
illustrated,  as  a  national  example,  in  the  history  of  the 
Israelites  after  their  removal  from  Egypt. 

The  moral  and  mental  degradation  produced  by  their  long 
servitude  and  ])ondage  in  that  country,  is  manifested  in  the 
liistory  of  their  forty  years'  journeying  in  the  wilderness. 

The  constant  presence  of  the  pillar  of  cloud  by  day,  and 
of  lire  Ijy  night,  admonishing  them  of  the  unceasing  care  and 
j)rovidence  of  God  over  them  ;  and  then  the  sublime  miracle 
of  tlie  open  road,  stretching  out  before  them  upon  the  bed 
of  the  Red  Sea,  by  which  they  crossed  over  and  escaped  from 


CHAPTER  XVIII.  127 

their  pursuing  enemy,  and  saw  that  enemy  ovcrwhehned  and 
destroyed  by  the  same  waters  that  had  been  walled  up  on 
either  hand  to  give  them  a  safe  passage  over  ;  and  then  the 
fall  of  the  manna  to  satisfy  their  hunger,  and  the  fountain  of 
pure  water,  gushing  from  the  rock,  to  quencli  their  thirst. 
These  amazing  miracles  failed  to  make  any  enduring  imi)res- 
sion  upon  their  minds — they  were  lost  upon  their  darkened 
and  degraded  moral  sensibilities.  Their  cowardly  murmuring 
at  every  occurrence  of  n%w  difficulties,  their  insolent  re- 
proaches cast  upon  their  leaders  wheu  they  felt  themselves 
safe  from  danger,  and  their  servile  and  cowering  fears  when 
they  saw  it  approaching  ;  their  incessant  murmurings,  dissat- 
isfaction, and  despondency,  with  their  constant  reference  to 
the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt,  and  the  desire  to  return  to  that  land, 
show  that  they  were  a  degraded,  heartless,  and  ignorant  peo- 
ple ;  just  what  the  cruelty  and  oppression  of  their  former 
bondage  was  calculated  to  make  them. 

The  superstition  and  servile  fear  produced  by  a  false  and 
tyrannical  religion,  will  bring  the  mind  into  a  similar  state 
of  imbecility  and  slavish  drudgery,  and  must  be,  therefore,  a 
hindrance  to  the  designs  of  God — an  enemy  to  his  merciful 
purpose  of  raising  man  to  the  high  moral  and  intellectual 
state  for  which  He  created  him. 

Protestantism,  for  a  long  time  after  she  had  cast  off  the 
bondage  of  Popish  Babylon,  gave  occasional  intimations  of 
the  principles  of  that  religion.  It  was  not  easy  to  divest  the 
mind  entirely  of  those  influences  and  errors  which  had  for 
centuries  kept  the  people  buried  in  darkness. 

To  say  nothing  of  the  defects  of  Luther's  theology,  tinged 
with  the  absurdity  of  Popish  teachings  ;  or,  of  the  wild, 
fanatical  lengths  to  which  certain  societies  in  Germany  suf- 
fered themselves  to  be  carried  in  their  new  religious  liberty  ; 
we  find  instances  in  the  history  of  English  Protestantism, 
and  likewise  in  Switzerland,  where  the  old  dragon  of  perse- 
cution was  allowed  to  gratify  his  peculiar  taste  for  blood,  in 


128  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

a  manner  most  revolting  and  painful  to  the  feelings  of  the 
present  enlightened  state  of  the  Protestant  Church. 

But  that  day  of  religious  persecution  is  gone,  never  to 
return  again.  Babylon  the  great  is  fallen — is  fallen  !  and 
now  let  us  hasten  to  join  the  swelling  chorus  of  the  great 
multitude  in  the  next  chapter,  as  they  shout  the  triumphs  of 
Protestantism,  and  religious  freedom  to  all  nations. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE    TRIUMPH    OF   THE    GOSPEL    CHURCH. 

The  scenes  of  this  chapter  are  such,  as  it  might  be  expected 
would  succeed  the  subversion  of  the  greatest  spiritual  des- 
potism of  the  earth.  A  mighty  power  has  fallen,  which  was 
adverse  to  the  happiness  of  man  and  the  glory  of  God  ;  and 
these  scenes  of  triumph  and  rejoicing  are  the  universal  shout 
of  exultation  over  the  fallen  power  of  this  great  adversary. 

1.  And  after  these  things  I  heard  a  great  voice  of  much  peo- 
ple in  heaven,  saying,  Alleluia  ;  salvation,  and  glory,  and  honor, 
and  power,  unto  the  Lord  our  God  ; 

2.  For  true  and  righteous  are  his  judgments  ;  for  he  hath 
judged  the  great  whore,  which  did  corrupt  the  earth  ivith  her 
fornication,  and  hath  avenged  the  Hood  of  his  servants  at  her 
hand. 

3.  And  again  they  said.  Alleluia.  And  her  smoke  rose  up 
for  ever  and  ever. 

4.  And  the  four  and  twenty  elders,  and  the  four  leasts,  fell 
down  and  worshiped  God  that  sat  on  the  throne,  saying,  Amen, 
Alleluia. 

5.  And  a  voice  came  out  of  the  throne,  saying,  Praise  our 
God,  all  ye  his  servants,  and  ye  that  fear  him,  both  small  and 

great. 

6.  And  I  heard  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  great  multitude,  and 
as  the  voice  of  many  waters^  and  as  the  voice  of  mighty  thundcr- 
ings,  saying.  Alleluia  :  for  the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reignefh. 

7.  Let  us  he  glad  and  rejoice,  and  give  honor  to  him  :  for  the 
marriage  of  the  Lamb  is  come,  and  his  wife  hath  made  herself 
ready. 

VOL.  II. — 6* 


130  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

8.  And  to  her  was  granted  that  she  should  he  arrayed  in  fine, 
linen,  dean  and  white :  for  the  fine  linen  is  the  righteotcsness  of 
saints. 

9.  And  he  saith  unto  me,  Write,  Blessed  are  they  which  are 
called  unto  the  marriage-supper  of  the  Lamb.  And  he  saith  unto 
me,  These  are  the  true  sayings  of  God. 

The  prophet  heard  the  voice  of  much  people  in  heaven  ! 
meaning  the  general  acclamation  of  praise  and  thanksgiving 
of  the  Church  of  God.  The  true  church  is  constantly  refer- 
red to  in  these  prophecies,  when  connected  with  acts  of  wor- 
ship, or  giving  glory  to  God.  This  great  voice  ascribes  the 
overthrow  of  the  great  corrupter  of  the  earth,  to  the  judg- 
ments of  God — for  he  hath  judged  the  great  whore  which  did 
corrupt  the  earth  ivith  her  fornication. 

Superstition  and  its  natural  effect,  idolatry,  had  been  by 
this  fallen  church  palmed  upon  the  people  for  the  religion  of 
Christ — for  hy  thy  sorceries  were  all  nations  deceived. 

And  the  alleluia  of  their  rejoicing  was  reiterated,  and  her 
smoke  rose  up  for  ever  and  ever. 

This  implies  a  perpetually-recurring  memorial  of  the  final 
overthrow  of  this  church  of  sorcery  and  deception.  This 
memorial  will,  probably,  be  some  periodical  celebration  which 
Protestant  Christians  all  over  the  world  will  institute  for  the 
purpose  of  rendering  simultaneous  and  universal  thanks  for 
the  deliverance  of  the  church  from  the  power  and  delusion 
of  the  antichristian  Romish  hierarchy.  This  idea  seems  to 
be  favored  Ijy  the  fourth  verse.  The  four-and-twenty  elders 
and  the  four  beasts,  the  representatives  of  the  four  grand  di- 
visions of  the  earth,  unite  in  one  solemn  act  of  worship  to 
God,  saying,  amen — an  approving  response  of  the  whole 
church  to  the  judgments  by  which  great  Babylon  has  l)eeu 
overthrown,  adding,  alleluia ! — an  ascription  of  praise  to 
God  for  the  happy  effects  of  his  judgments. 

The  institution  of  some  such  festival  as  is  intimated  above, 
occurring  at  stated  periods,  like  those  did  amongst  the  old 
Jewish  Cliurch,  seems  probable  also  from  the  language  of  the 


CHAPTER  XIX.  131 

fifth,  sixth,  and  seventh  verses.  A  voice  is  heard  from  the 
throne,  saying,  Praise  our  God,  all  ye  his  servants,  and  ye  that 
fear  him,  hath  small  and  great — meaning  that  all  ranks  and 
condition  of  men  should  be  embraced  in  the  great  jubilee. 
This  voice  from  the  throne  may  be  regarded  as  such  a  jul)i- 
listic  occasion,  and  the  sixth  verse  expresses  the  united  praise 
of  earth  in  the  celebration  of  it. 

The  prophet  seems  to  find  some  difficulty  in  selecting  some- 
thing by  wliich  he  may  adequately  express  the  grandeur  of 
the  universa'l  shout  of  praise  which  will  go  up  from  the  jubilee. 
He  says  :  /  heard  the  voice  of  a  great  multitude.  But,  as  if 
that  did  not  reach  it,  he  immediately  adds,  and  as  the  voice  of 
many  waters.  But  still  the  comparison  falls  short  of  the  re- 
ality. Not  even  the  ceaseless  roar  of  earth's  mighty  cata- 
racts can  give  an  adequate  idea  of  it.  He  then  refers  to  the 
deafening  thunders  as  they  burst  and  reverberate  over  the 
earth,  shaking  its  very  foundations,  and  says  such  will  be 
the  shout  of  that  universal  jubilee,  when  the  people  of  God, 
in  all  the  earth,  shall  lift  up  their  voice,  saying,  Alleluia :  for 
the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth.  Let  us  he  glad  and  rejoice, 
and  give  honor  to  him :  for  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  is  come, 
and  his  wife  hath  made  herself  ready.  This  is  the  Church  of 
Christ;  and  how  simple  and  beautiful  is  the  description  of 
her  appearance,  arrayed  i7i  fine  linen,  clean  and  white!  Con- 
trast this  dress  with  that  in  which  the  woman  is  seen,  seated 
on  the  scarlet-colored  beast,  (chap.  xvii.  verse  4,)  and  we 
shall  readily  perceive  the  difference  between  the  Church  of 
Christ  and  the  church  of  this  world. 

9.  And  he  saith  unto  me,  Write,  Blessed  are  they  which  arc 
called  unto  the  marriages  upper  of  the  Lamb.  And  he  saith 
unto  me,  These  are  the  tnue  sayings  of  God. 

10.  And  I  fell  at  his  feet  to  worship  him.  Ami  he  said  unto 
me.  See  thoio  do  it  not :  I  am  thy  fellow-servant,  and  of  thy  bre- 
thren that  have  the  testimony  of  Jesus  :  worship  God  ;  fur  the 
testimony  of  Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  prophecy. 

Who  are  they  that  are  called  to  tlio  marriage-supper  of  the 


132  THE  APOCALYPSE  UXVEILED. 

Lamb  ?  All  who  have  renounced  the  faith  and  communion 
of  the  great  corrupter  of  religion,  who  have  embraced  the 
doctrines  of  the  gosj^el  church,  and  have  no  fellowship  with 
the  spiritual  Babylon.  To  all  such  proclaim  that  they  are 
blessed  ;  encourage  them  not  to  cast  away  the  hope  because 
of  any  present  difficulties,  but  confide  in  the  promises  of  God, 
for  they  cannot  fail  ;  for  these  are  the  true  sayings  of  God. 
This  glorious  union  between  Christ  and  his  church  on  the 
earth,  here  spoken  of  under  the  similitude  of  a  marriage,  will 
truly  and  certainly  come  to  pass. 

The  happy  period  is  gradually  approaching.  As  the  errors 
and  superstition  of  false  religion  fall  and  disappear,  the 
truth  and  purity  of  the  religion  of  Christ  rise  higher,  and  ex- 
tend their  influence  and  power  over  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world.  In  this  way  the  Lamb's  wife  is  making  herself  ready 
for  the  joyful  event  of  her  marriage. 

Astonished  at  these  divine  revelations,  the  prophet  very 
naturally  felt  inclined  to  pay  divine  honors  to  his  illustrious 
instructor,  and  fell  at  his  feet  to  worship  him  ;  and  beyond  a 
doubt,  if  there  ever  was  an  occasion  when  a  man  might  be 
excused  for  worshiping  any  other  being  than  his  Creator, 
this  was  such  an  occasion.  But  the  proposed  worship  was 
instantly  forbidden — see  thou  do  it  not :  worship  God. 

The  apostate  church,  whose  fall,  under  the  name  of  Baby- 
lon the  Great,  is  exulted  over  in  this  chapter,  commenced 
her  separate  and  distinct  history  in  the  worship  of  images. 
It  was  this  idolatry  that  caused  the  revolt  of  Gregory  I.,  and 
erected  the  Western  Church  into  an  independent  hierarchy. 

The  words  of  the  heavenly  admonitor  to  the  prophet  are  a 
stern  rebuke  to  this  idolatry.  Worship  God  ;  not  an  image 
nor  a  saint,  not  the  Virgin,  nor  the  most  exalted  angel,  but 
worship  God.  This  is  the  great  law  of  true  Christian  wor- 
sliip,  and  any  departure  from  it  in  the  least  degree,  in  spirit 
or  in  form,  is  idolatry.  See  thou  do  it  not  ;  for  I  am  thy  fel- 
low-servant, and  of  thy  hrethren  that  have  the  testimony  of  Jesus. 
Is  it  possible  this  illustrious  personage,  who  could  point  out 


CHAPTER  XIX.  133 

and  explain  to  the  prophet  the  scenes  of  his  vision;  was  he 
once  a  child  of  earth,  a  suffering  mortal,  nn  heir  of  dcatli  ? 
Yea,  verily  ;  and  no  less  a  change  than  this  will  pass  upon 
all  thoee  whose  resurrection  bodies  shall  be  made  like  unto 
the  glorious  body  of  their  Lord  and  Saviour. 

This  is  one  of  the  glories  to  which  Christianity  points  its 
subjects  in  the  future  world,  as  amongst  the  happy  results  of 
their  warfare  on  earth.  What  matters  it  then  if  trials, 
afflictions  and  poverty  be  the  Christian's  lot  on  earth  : 

"  If,  Lord,  thou  count  him  meet, 
With  that  enraptured  host  to  appear 
And  worship  at  thy  feet." 

11.  And  I  saw  heaven  opened,  and  hehold  a  white  horse  ;  and 
he  that  sat  upon  him  was  called  Faithful  and  True;  and  in 
righteousness  he  doth  judge  and  make  war. 

12.  His  eyes  were  as  a  Jlame  of  fire,  and  on  his  head  were 
many  crowns ;  and  he  had  a  name  written,  that  no  man  knew 
hut  he  himself : 

13.  And  he  was  clothed  with  a  vesture  dipped  in  blood :  and 
his  name  is  called  The  Word  of  God. 

14.  And  the  armies  which  were  in  heaven  followed  him  upon 
white  horses,  clothed  in  fine  linen,  white  and  clean. 

15.  And  out  of  his  mouth  goeth  a  sharp  sword,  that  loith  it 
he  should  smite  the  nations :  and  he  shall  rule  them  with  a  rod 
of  iron  :  and  he  treadeth  the  wine-press  of  the  fierceness  and 
wrath  of  Almighty  God. 

16.  And  he  hath  on  his  vesture  and  on  his  thigh  a  name 
written.  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords. 

The  11th  verse  commences  a  description  of  what  may  be 
regarded  as  a  triumphal  procession  of  the  Church  of  Christ, 
after  the  overthrow  of  her  adversary,  the  great  Baljylonian 
power.  In  a  former  chapter,  the  prophet  in  one  of  his 
visions,  speaks  of  the  temple  being  opened  in  heaven.  That 
is,  the  gospel  church  had  prevailed  so  far  as  to  be  established 
in  Christendom,  and  the  exercise  of  Protestant  worship  was 


134  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

guaranteed  to  the  people  generally  ;  but  still  the  old  dragon 
retained  considerable  power,  and  in  many  parts  of  Europe 
under  his  influence,  the  exercise  of  this  religious  liberty  was 
not  allowed — the  great  temple  of  Protestant  worship  was 
opened  in  heaven,  but  not  all  over  heaven.  But,  now  the 
prophet  sees  all  heaven  opened — all  lands — all  people  now 
worship  God  under  their  own  vine  and  fig  tree,  and  there  is 
none  to  prevent  or  disturb  them  ;  no  bulls  of  excommunica- 
tion— no  anathemas  of  the  Pope  can  now  make  them  afraid. 

The  idea  is  that  of  a  great  Chamji  de  Mars,  suddenly 
rising  and  spreading  itself  out  to  a  vast  extent  before  the 
eyes  of  the  prophet,  and  upon  its  boundless  surface  he  beheld 
this  grand  procession. 

The  chief  and  most  distinguished  personage  in  the  scene  is 
the  victorious  head  and  leader,  upon  a  white  horse.  His 
powers  and  qualities  are  named  :  he  is  called  faithful  and 
true,  and  in  righteousness  he  doth  judge  and  make  war.  How 
very  different  are  the  purposes  of  his  war  from  those  of  the 
kings  of  the  earth  ?  His  judgments  are  for  the  establish- 
ment of  righteousness  and  truth  in  the  earth  ;  his  warfare  is 
not  against  men,  but  against  their  errors. 

His  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire — denoting  Omniscience ! 
and  on  his  head  were  many  crowns  ;  a  figure  of  speech,  ex- 
pressive of  the  conquests  made  by  the  gospel  in  reclaiming 
the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  from  the  dominion  of  the  false 
religion,  and  bringing  them  into  subjection  to  the  righteous 
government  of  Christ.  This  being  done  by  the  conquests  of 
the  gospel,  he  is  represented  wearing  them  as  the  trophies  of 
his  grace. 

The  next  peculiarity  in  the  character  of  this  august  per- 
sonage demands  the  most  serious  attention  :  And  he  had  a 
name  written  that  no  man  knew  hut  himself.  This  name  was 
written,  that  is,  it  was  published,  proclaimed — was  as  fully 
declared  and  reiterated  in  as  great  a  variety  of  forms,  and 
nndcT  as  great  a  variety  of  symbols  and  emblems  as  any 
otlier  attribute  of  his  character,  and  yet,  no  man  knew  this 


CHAPTER  XIX.  135 

7iame — no  man  could  comprehend  it.  Why  could  no  man 
know  it  but  himself?  because  divinity  alone  can  cninjprehcnd 
divinity.  Christ  alone  can  comprehend  and  understand  his 
own  mysterious  and  profound  divinity.  The  character  of  our 
Savior  in  his  divine  nature  is  declared  in  this  text  ;  but  it  is 
also  written  elsewhere.  It  was  written  and  proclaimed  by 
the  Jewish  prophets,  and  most  conspicuously  Ijy  Isaiah,  (ix. 
chap.  :  verse  6,)  where  he  refers  to  Christ  in  his  two-fold 
character — his  humanity  and  his  divinity  :  For  unto  us  a 
child  is  horn  ;  unto  us  a  son  is  given,  and  the  government  shall 
he  upon  his  shoulders  ;  and  his  name  shall  he  called  Wonderfxd ! 
Counsellor  !  The  Mighty  God  !  The  Everlasting  Father  !  the 
Prince  of  Peace!  Thus  was  this  name  written  in  the  Jewish 
Church.  To  the  Christian  Church  Christ  himself  declares 
his  name  to  the  same  effect  :  He  that  hath  seen  me,  hath  seen 
the  Father.  I  am  in  the  Father  and  the  Father  in  me.  I  and 
my  Father  are  one.  This  same  prophet,  who  is  now  descrili- 
ing  this  triumphant  scene  of  the  gospel  church,  published 
this  name  to  the  church  thus  :  In  the  beginning  was  the  IVord, 
and  the  Word  was  with  God  ;  and  the  Word  was  God !  All 
things  were  made  hy  Him,  atid  without  Him  was  not  anything 
made  that  was  made.  It  is  only  necessary  to  add,  that  the 
word  name  is  to  be  taken  in  a  sense  signifying  nature — attri- 
butes :  the  sense  in  which  the  Psalmist  uses  it  when  he  cele- 
brates the  majesty  and  glory  of  God,  as  seen  in  his  works, 
he  exclaims  :  O  Lord,  our  God,  how  excellent  is  thy  name  in 
all  the  earth,  viii.  Psalm. 

In  no  instance  where  this  mysterious  name  is  written,  is  there 
any  attempt  made  to  explain  it  ;  for  the  reason  that  no  man 
can  know  it :  that  is,  it  cannot  be  understood  by  human 
reason.  The  manhood,  or  human  jiature  of  Christ  is  compat- 
ible with  man's  comprehension,  but  his  divinity  is  not  ;  no 
man  can  know  it. 

This  name  is  not  written  for  the  jmrposc  of  reasoning  men 
into  an  understanding  of  the  divinity  of  Christ,  for  lie,  who 
made  us,  knew  that  the  mightiest  powers  of  the  human  intel- 


136  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

lect  must  ever  fail  to  comprehend  it.  It  is  presented  to  man 
as  a  subject  of  faith,  and  not  a  subject  to  which  his  under- 
standing is  adapted. 

The  prophet  proceeds  with  his  description  :  And  he  was 
clothed  u-ith  a  vesture  dipped  in  blood,  and  his  name  is  called  the 
Word  of  God — corresponding  with  the  title  given  him  by  St. 
John.  The  whole  sacrificial  atonement  of  Christ  is  embraced 
in  this  verse,  and  the  merit  and  efficacy  of  that  atonement 
are  avouched  in  the  latter  clause  of  the  verse  :  And  his  name 
is  called  the  Word  of  God. 

The  armies  which  were  in  heaven,  and  are  represented  as 
following  their  great  leader  upon  white  horses,  signify  the 
multitude  of  believers  who  have  been  redeemed  by  faith  in 
the  atonement  of  Christ.  They  follow  him  in  purity  and  holi- 
ness of  life,  represented  by  the  fine  linen,  white  and  clean,  in 
which  they  are  clothed.  This  following  Christ  does  not  refer 
merely  to  the  personal  and  individual  life  of  God's  people, 
preserving  themselves  from  the  spirit  and  wickedness  of  the 
world  ;  but  it  has  a  higher  meaning.  It  points  to  the  har- 
monious eff'ort  of  the  saints  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  God, 
and  extend  his  righteous  government  amongst  men.  Those 
efiTorts  have  achieved  wonders  in  extending  the  borders  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom,  since  the  four  angels  were  charged  to 
keep  the  peace  of  the  world  while  the  angel  of  the  gospel 
sealed  the  people  of  God.  The  wonderful  facility  which  the 
art  of  printing  has  furnished  for  spreading  gospel  truth  is  fami- 
liar to  all  ;  and  the  various  and  efficient  means  which  Pro- 
testant Christians  are  diligently  employing  are  rapidly  hasten- 
ing the  fall  of  Babylon  the  Great.  The  white  horse  is  the 
common  and  familiar  emblem  of  triumph. 

The  sharp  sword  which  goeth  out  of  his  mouth,  none  can 
fail  to  understand,  is  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.  It  is 
the  familiar  emblem  of  the  gospel  ;  and  smiting  the  nations 
with  this  sword  im])lies  the  faithful  preaching  of  this  gospel, 
and  enforcing  its  doctrines  upon  the  people  of  all  lands. 

The  present  is  pre-eminently  the  age  of  this  vision.  The  pro- 


CHAPTER  XIX.  131 

digious  efforts  of  the  Protestant  churches,  and  the  success 
which  has  attended  them  in  converting  the  people  from  their 
darkness  and  errors,  and  forcing  a  way  for  the  light  of  the 
gospel  into  those  countries  which  have  ever  been  buried  in 
the  darkness  of  pagan  idolatry,  are  well  represented  l)y  the 
grand  and  triumphant  procession  of  the  armies  which  were  in 
heaven  following  him  who  is  Faithful  and  True,  and  who  doth 
make  war,  and  judge  in  righteous7iess. 

And  he  shall  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron.  The  law  of  God 
must  become  the  law  of  all  nations  :  that  is  the  simple  mean- 
ing of  this  verse.  No  compromising  with  false  systems  of  re- 
ligion— the  world  has  had  enough  of  this  ;  and  the  nation 
that  will  not  receive  Christ  and  his  religion  must  be  prepared 
to  meet  the  righteous  indignation  of  Heaven,  denounced 
against  all  who  adhere  to  a  false  religion. 

And  he  treadeth  the  wine-press  of  the  fierceness  and  wrath  of 
Ahiighty  God.  Christ  becomes  the  executioner  of  the  divine 
judgments  upon  the  guilty  nations  that  will  not  forsake  their 
false  and  superstitious  systems  of  rehgion.  To  such  nations 
the  warning  is  given  that  the  execution  of  God's  anger  is 
committed  to  him,  whose  power  is  seen  in  his  titles  of  pre- 
eminent majesty  and  might — King  of  lings  and  Lord  of  lords. 
These  titles,  in  a  political  sense,  would  be  understood  as  con- 
veying the  idea  of  an  all-powerful  monarch,  capable  by  his 
vast  powers  of  prostrating  all  other  kingdoms — in  short,  that 
all  other  sovereigns  rule  by  his  permission.  They  are,  there- 
fore, an  appropriate  emblem  of  the  great  moral  power  which 
Christ  possesses  of  inflicting  the  judgments  of  the  Almighty 
upon  the  nations  who  reject  his  truth.  Christ  says  the  same 
thing  himself  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  John,  twenty-second 
verse  :  For  the  Father  judgeth  no  man,  but  huth  committed  all 
judgment  unto  the  Son,  (twenty-seventh  verse,)  and  luith given 
him  authority  to  execute  judgment  also,  because  he  is  the  Son  of 
Man. 

All  the  powers  necessary  to  carry  out  the  great  Christian 
dispensation,  whether  it  calls  for  the  exercise  of  mercy  or 


138  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

judgment,  arc  committed  to  Christ.  And  it  is  in  the  execu- 
tion of  the  judgments  of  the  last  day  that  he  is  represented 
as  treading  the  wine-press  of  the  wrath  of  God. 

But  what  a  scene  of  grandeur  does  this  great  Christian 
pageant  present  !  Look  at  it,  spreading  itself  out,  and  ex- 
tending its  vast  length  and  breadth  as  it  moves  on  through 
the  world  !  Behold  it  covering  the  immense  plain,  then  as- 
cending the  lofty  mountains,  and,  passing  over,  descending 
again,  and  filling  the  great  valleys  which  spread  out  from 
mountain  to  mountain,  and  extend  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  ! 
See  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  bowing  before  it,  while  the 
hovels  of  the  poor  are  made  joyful  by  its  blessings  I  Earth 
sends  up  her  loud  hosannas  in  honor  of  it,  while  the  temples 
of  idolatry  fall  before  it,  and  the  votaries  of  a  delusive  reli- 
gion forsake  the  altars  of  their  superstition. 

This  is  the  progress  of  the  gospel  through  the  world,  and 
it  brings  us  to  the  next  scene  in  the  visions  of  the  prophet, 
which  is  the  supper  of  the  great  God,  given  to  all  the  fowls 
that  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven. 

THE  GREAT  SUPPER. 

17.  A'nd  I  saw  an  angel  standing  in  the  sun;  and  Ae  cried 
uith  a  loud  voice,  saying  to  all  the  foicls  that  fly  in  the  midst  of 
heaven,  Come  and  gather  yourselves  together  unto  the  supper  of 
the  great  God  ; 

18.  That  ye  may  eat  the  flesh  of  kings,  and  the  flesh  of  ca'p- 
tains,  and  the  flesh  of  mighty  men,  and  the  flesh  of  horses,  and  of 
the?n  that  sit  on  them,  and  the  flesh  of  all  men,  hothfree  and  hand, 
both  small  and  great. 

19.  And  I  saw  the  beast,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth,  avi  their 
armies,  gathered  together  to  make  war  against  him  that  sat  on 
the  horse,  aiul  against  his  army. 

"  20.  And  the  beast  was  taken,  and  icith  him  the  false  prophet 
that  wrought  miracles  before  him,  with  which  he  deceived  them 
that  had  received  the  mark  of  the  beast,  and  them  that  worshiped 


CHAPTER  XTX.  139 

his  image.      These  both  urre  cast  alive  into  a  lale  of  fire  hnrn- 
ing  with  hrimstaiie. 

21.  And  the  remnant  were  slain  icilh  the  sword  of  him  that 
sat  upon  the  horse,  lohich  suwrdproceedeth  out  of  his  mouth :  and 
all  the  fowls  icere  filled  with  their  flesh. 

The  supper  is  designed  to  express,  figuratively,  three  things. 
It  shows,  in  the  first  pUioe,  the  elose  of  the  day,  tliat  l)eing 
the  meal  always  taken  after  the  toil  and  labor  of  the  day 
have  ended.  This  supper  is  given  at  the  end  of  the  gospel- 
day.  It  expresses,  in  the  second  place,  the  final  and  com- 
plete overthrow  of  all  systems  and  powers  which  are  opposed 
to  the  universal  government  of  Christ,  comprehended  under 
the  title  of  the  beast,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  their 
a^rmies,  the  false  prophet  that  had  delivered  them  by  miracles, 
and  all  the  worshipers  of  the  beast  and  false  prophet.  All 
are  rei)resented  as  being  conquered,  and  left  upon  the  field  to 
be  devoured  by  the  fowls  of  heaven. 

In  this  picture  the  idea  of  total  overthrow  and  abandon- 
ment is  complete.  This  will  be  the  end  of  the  judgment  day, 
when  all  that  remains  opposed  to  the  authority  of  Christ  will 
be  like  the  garbage  which  is  thrown  out  to  feed  the  birds 
that  prey  upon  such  matter. 

The  third  point  of  reference  in  this  figure  is  its  allusion  to 
certain  means  which  will  precede  and  indicate  the  approach 
of  this  great  supper.  • 

These  means  I  consider  as  referred  to  by  the  angel  stand- 
ing in  the  sun,  and  crying  to  all  the  fowls  of  lieaven  to  pre- 
pare themselves  for  the  supper  of  the  great  God. 

Our  Savior's  conversation  at  different  times  respecting  the 
signs  and  wonders  which  would  precede  the  end  of  the  gospel 
day,  afford  much  instruction  ;  and  what  he  spoke  in  a  mere 
literal  way  the  prophet  addresses  to  us  allegorically. 

It  is  enjoined  upon  Christians  to  watch  for  the  occurrence 
of  those  signs  to  which  Christ  and  his  apostles  have  referred 
them. 


140  THE  APOCALYPSE  UXVEILED. 

There  are  events  constantly  arising  npon  the  surface  of  the 
world's  history,  which  outwardly,  and,  to  superficial  observ- 
ers, wear  nothing  but  a  political  aspect,  when,  at  the  same 
time,  they  may  be  intimately  connected  with  the  interests  of 
Christianity.  Some  of  those  occurrences  which  have  struck 
me  as  being  of  this  character,  I  will  refer  to. 

Upon  all  hands  it  will  be  admitted  that  England  has  ex- 
ceeded all  other  nations  in  spreading  the  knowledge  of  the 
gospel.  Her  convenient  position,  her  wide,  extended  com- 
merce, her  immense  wealth,  and  her  practical  acquaintance 
with  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  have  eminsntly  qualified  her 
to  take  the  lead  in  enlightening  the  nations  around  her,  and 
also  to  carry  the  light  of  the  gospel  to  distant  countries. 

The  angel  that  called  the  fowls  of  heaven  to  this  great  sup- 
per is  represented  as  standing  in  the  sun.  The  meaning  of 
this  is,  that  we  may  expect  to  see,  in  the  country  referred  to 
under  the  symbol  of  the  sun,  some  unusual  and  very  extra- 
ordinary occurrences — not  such  as  the  ordinary  means  of 
proclaiming  the  gospel,  but  which  will  tend  powerfully  to 
bring  about  the  overthrow  of  the  beast,  the  false  prophet, 
and  the  kings  of  the  earth,  associated  with  them  in  the  man- 
ner described  in  the  twentieth  verse.  That  overthrow  will 
be  both  jpolifical  and  religious — kings  and  their  armies  signi- 
fying the  former,  and  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet  the 
latter. 

The  occurrences  which  I  consider  as  represented,  particu- 
larly V)y  the  angel  crying  to  the  fowls  of  heaven  to  gather 
themselves  to  the  great  supper,  will  exert  a  great  influence 
upon  both  of  the  above-named  interests. 

The  combined  effort  of  the  different  Protestant  nations  to 
bring  about  great  nioral  and  political  changes  in  the  earth, 
must  exert  a  powerful  influence  favorable  to  that  object. 
Even  small  associations  in  limited  communities,  often  produce 
the  most  salutary  effects  upon  the  moral  and  social  habits  of 
the  peo})le  amongst  whom  they  exist  ;  how  much  greater 
results  should  we  look  for  from  the  harmonious  and  united 


CHAPTER  XIX.  141 

labor  of  Christian  nations  gathered  together  from  different 
parts  of  the  earth,  by  their  representatives,  for  the  promo- 
tion of  tlicse  ol)jects. 

We  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  last  three  verses  of  the 
chapter  express  the  events  which  give  the  supi)er  its  state  of 
complete  preparation.  These  are  the  taking  of  the  beast 
and  the  false  prophet,  and  casting  them  into  the  lake — burn- 
ing with  fire  and  brimstone,  and  killing  the  remnant,  or  tlie 
kings  of  the  earth  with  the  sword.  But  these  events  are  to 
be  brought  about  l)y  means,  which  are  chiefly  the  s})read  of 
the  gospel,  and  whatever  is  calculated  to  open  the  way  for  it. 

Such  means  are  those  now  under  consideration.  They 
give  to  the  present  age  its  peculiar  adaptation  to  produce 
the  signs  referred  to  in  the  above-mentioned  verses. 

The  "  World's  Peace  Convention,"  held  in  England,  with 
whose  zealous  people  the  idea  originated,' some  four  or  five 
years  ago,  was  something  novel  as  a  means  of  impressing 
Christianity  upon  the  world.  The  proposal  to  hold  such  a 
convention  was  promptly  responded  to  by  the  churches  of 
this  and  other  Protestant  countries. 

It  is  true  that  the  convention,  so  far  as  outward  appear- 
ances indicated  its  effects,  did  not  produce  any  very  striking 
results.  Indeed  the  enemies  of  religion  considered  it  an 
abortion,  and  exulted  in  its  failure.  But  this  is  not  the  way 
to  judge  of  the  success  of  great  moral  revolutions. 

Providence  often  moves  in  the  accomplishment  of  great 
results,  with  very  slow  steps  ;  and  the  means  which  in  tlie 
end  prove  most  effectual,  are  often  in  the  beginning  the  least 


pi 


omismg. 


This  Peace  Convention  was  one  of  the  means 


which,  in  the  aggregate,  constituted  this  angel,  and  very 
likely  it  did  all  that  it  was  necessary  at  that  time  should  be 
done.  It  sowed  the  seed — it  put  the  mind  of  the  cliurch  in 
a  train  of  thinking  which  was  quite  new  to  it.  The  old 
notion,  too  much  entertained  by  men,  that,  because  some 
Christians  were  not  of  their  nation,  they  were  not  brethren, 
began  to  be  discarded.  This  was  one  evidence  of  the  growth  of 


142  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

the  seed  and  of  the  good  fruit  it  was  destined  to  produce.  It 
is  still  germinating  and  sending  its  roots  deeper  into  the  affec- 
tions of  Christians  in  various  lands,  producing  a  more  generous 
and  universal  sentiment  of  good-will.  But  what  do  we  now  see, 
as  another  development  of  means  auxiliary  to  the  rapid  ex- 
tension of  Christianity  ?  at  this  very  time*  England  is  hold- 
ing, in  her  great  metropolis,  a  grand  exhibition  of  human 
skill  in  the  improvements  in  the  mechanical  arts,  by  the  dif- 
ferent nations  of  the  world.  She  has  opened  a  great  field 
for  noble  rivalship  in  useful  and  ornamental  works  of  art  and 
genius.  Will  not  this  exert  a  great  influence  in  banishing 
national  antipathies,  and  removing  prejudices,  which  owe 
their  existence  to  nothing  but  ignorance  of  the  mutual  rela- 
tions of  men  to  each  other  ? 

When  these  honest  men  from  different  nations  laid  down 
their  works  of  art  and  genius  side  by  side,  then  looked  each 
other  in  the  face  and  grasped  each  other's  hands  with  greet- 
ings of  friendship,  was  not  a  new  chord  of  feeling  touched, 
and  a  nobler  sentiment  of  fraternal  sympathy  awakened  than 
ever  had  stirred  in  their  hearts  before  ?  How  the  old  an- 
tagonism of  national  and  social  prejudice  must  have  melted 
down  under  the  warm  inspirations  of  that  great  Christian 
sentiment  of  universal  brotherhood — Feace  on  earth  and  good 
will  to  all  men.  This  was  the  great  moral  principle  which 
arose  out  of  this  exhibition,  and  which  diffused  itself  through- 
out the  Crystal  Palace,  and  went  with  the  people  when  they 
separated  and  returned  to  their  distant  homes. 

I  very  much  doubt  if  this  "  World's  Fair"  would  ever  have 
been  heard  of  if  the  "World's  Peace  Convention"  had  not 
been  held  previously.  It  is  in  this  way  that  the  great  and 
wonderful  plans  of  divine  goodness  are  accomplished.  One 
step  leads  on  to  another  ;  one  event  gives  rise  to  another, 
until  the  actors  in  the  drama  become  amazed  themselves  at 
the  wonderful  results  which  have  arisen  so  unexpectedly  from 

*  1851. 


CHAPTER  XIX.  143 

circumstances,  which  in  their  beginning  never  contempleted 
such  results. 

There  was  one  striking  circumstance  connected  with  this 
world's  exhibition  worthy  of  particular  notice,  and  which 
gives  it  a  character  suitable  to  the  signs  of  the  times.  I 
allude  to  the  solemn,  religious  service  with  which  it  was 
opened.  When  all  things  were  arranged  and  ready  for  in- 
spection, a  solemn  pause  held  the  vast  throng  in  deepest 
silence.  The  first  act  was  to  acknowledge  the  God  of 
heaven  as  the  common  Father  of  all  nations,  without 
whose  blessing  the  ingenuity  and  labor  of  man  profiteth 
nothing. 

England,  in  the  person  of  her  queen,  reverently  bowed  be- 
fore the  Lord,  and  all  the  people  bowed,  while  the  Primate 
of  England  offered  to  the  Most  High  the  homage  of  assem- 
bled nations.  Then  the  voice  of  the  multitude  broke  forth, 
like  the  sound  of  many  waters,  and,  mingling  with  the  rich 
and  solemn  tones  of  great  organs  and  other  musical  instru- 
ments, filled  the  Crystal  Palace  with  hosaunas  to  the  God  of 
all  the  earth. 

Was  not  this  a  scene  worthy  of  being  held  up  in  the  midst 
of  the  greatest  Protestant  nation  of  the  world,  as  a  sign  of 
the  speedy  overthrow  of  all  the  powers  that  opposed  the  pro- 
gress of  Christianity  ?  What  could  be  better  calculated  than 
this  "  Industrial  Exhibition,"  conducted  as  it  was,  to  unite 
different  nations  in  one  common  feeling  of  brotherhood  and 
Christian  sympathy  ? 

Let  the  Crystal  Palace  stand  ;  let  it  remain  to  commemo- 
rate the  epoch  when  the  angel  stood  in  the  sun,  and  cried  to 
all  the  fowls  that  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven  to  gather  or  pre- 
pare themselves  for  the  supper  of  the  Great  God. 

In  another  view  of  the  subject  this  exiiibition  possesses  au 
important  character.  It  shows  the  absurdity  of  supposing 
that  it  was  ever  uitended  by  the  Author  of  Cliri.stianity  that 
it  should  creep  through  the  world  in  solitude  and  silence. 
The  arts  and  sciences  are  her  proper  companions.     In  her 


144  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

company  they  develop  their  growth  and  attain  their  greatest 
perfection  with  the  most  wonderful  celerity. 

To  impose  upon  the  Christian  religion  the  solitude  of  the 
cloister,  or  to  shut  it  up  behind  bars  and  bolts,  and  exclude 
it  from  the  sympathies  and  enjoyments  of  social  life,  is  mere 
superstition,  and  ignorantly  aims  to  effect  by  a  voluntary 
cruelty  that  which  the  grace  of  God  alone  can  do.  Where 
do  we  find  the  birth-place  of  great  discoveries  and  improve- 
ments in  the  arts  and  sciences  ?  Where  did  that  wonder 
spring  from  which  holds  its  mastery  over  the  storms  of  the 
ocean,  and  walks  in  triumph  over  its  billows  ? — and  the  still 
greater  wonder,  the  magnetic  telegraph,  whence  did  it  arise  ? 
These,  with  a  thousand  other  discoveries  and  improvements 
in  the  mechanic  arts,  which  follow  each  other  in  such  rapid 
succession  as  to  keep  the  world  in  perpetual  astonishment, 
all  owe  their  origin  to  those  people  where  the  Protestant  reli- 
gion invites  the  freest  inquiry  into  her  principles,  and  pro- 
claims civil  and  religious  liberty  as  the  birthright  of  all  men. 

We  now  return  to  the  vision.  After  the  angel  had  an- 
nounced the  coming  supper,  and  had  invited  all  the  fowls  of 
heaven  to  gather  themselves  together  to  be  prepared  for  it, 
the  prophet  gives  us  notice  of  the  great  events  which  will 
immediately  precede  it.  They  are  embraced  in  the  last  three 
verses  of  the  chapter,  (19,  20,  and  21,)  and  referred  to  as 
the  signs  of  the  last  days  of  the  gospel  dispensation. 

This  combination  of  the  beast  and  false  prophet  with  the 
kings  of  the  earth  will,  doubtless,  be  of  a  political  character, 
and  the  object  will  be  two-fold — first,  to  destroy  the  Protes- 
tant religion,  and  secondly,  to  check  the  progress  of  civil 
liberty. 

I  think  it  quite  certain  that  the  beast  alluded  to  is  the  two- 
horned  beast  which  came  up  out  of  the  earth,  (chapter  xiii. 
vers'i  11.)  The  remarks  on  that  chapter  will  show  why  the 
term  least,  in  that  instance,  is  applied  to  an  ecclesiastical 
power. 

The  temporal  power  of  the  Pope,  though  very  much  limited 


CHAPTER  XIX.  145 

and  reduced  to  what  it  formerly  was,  is  still  ncknowlodijed  ia 
Europe.  He  holds  with  other  crowned  heads  the  relation  of 
a  temporal  prince  as  well  as  that  of  Roman  Pontifif.  His  em- 
bassadors are  received  and  honored  at  their  courts,  as  their 
embassadors  are  received  at  the  Court  of  Rome.  Political 
and  secular  affairs  are  negotiated  between  Rome  and  other 
governments  of  Europe  just  as  they  are  between  other  king- 
doms. The  term  least,  therefore,  is  applicable  to  Rome,  as 
she  still  holds  the  relation  of  a  political  power  with  the  other 
governments  of  Europe. 

From  the  relation  given  by  the  prophet  of  the  circum- 
stances and  the  result  of  this  war,  we  must  infer  that  it  is 
the  last  effort  that  will  be  made  against  the  Protestant  reli- 
gion ;  and  therefore  it  can  have  no  reference  to  the  measures 
that  were  employed  for  the  same  purpose  by  the  woman, 
while  she  sat  upon  the  scarlet-colored  beast  with  seven  heads 
and  ten  horns.  Indeed  the  manner  of  this  opposition  is 
altogether  different  from  that. 

In  the  present  instance,  the  beast,  that  is,  Popery,  in  its 
temporal  power,  is  represented  as  coalesceing — forming  a 
league  with  the  kings  of  the  earth.  The  woman  is  not  now 
sitting  upon  a  great  beast  and  overriding  every  opposing 
power  ;  or,  to  speak  literally,  the  Church  of  Rome  no  longer 
commands  the  military  force  of  a  great  empire  to  crush  the 
growing  power  of  the  Reformation. 

The  Reformation  has  fixed  the  Protestant  religion  upon  a 
throne  which  leaves  it  nothing  to  fear  from  violence  and 
tyranny.  This  throne  is  the  enlightened  judgment  and  the 
firm  attachment  of  the  people.  Other  measures  must  now 
be  devised — other  weapons  must  be  employed  in  the  great 
conflict  with  the  white  horse  army.  Hence  the  beast  and 
the  kings  of  the  earth  enter  into  a  league,  and  devise  a 
system  of  political  measures,  with  the  plausible  pretext  of 
national  regulations,  necessary  to  protect  the  order  and  peace 
of  their  own  governments,  and  hope  by  such  means  to  accom- 
plish that  which  they  despair  of  effecting  by  tlie  sword. 

VOL.  II. — 7 


146  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

Protestantism  has  grown  too  mighty,  and  has  spread  itself 
too  extensively,  to  be  assailed  now  by  the  Inquisition,  the 
rack,  and  the  fire,  which  were  the  old-fashioned  means  of 
dealing  with  it. 

The  description  the  prophet  gives  of  this  league  is  exceed- 
ingly ])rief.  He  simply  says,  in  the  19th  verse  :  /  saw  the 
beast  and  the  kings  of  the  earth  and  their  armies,  gathered 
tosether  to  moke  war  aminst  him  that  sat  on  the  horse  and 
against  his  army. 

We  should  suppose  from  this  formidable  power,  that  some- 
thing of  great  consequence  would  be  effected  ;  and  we  anx- 
iously inquire,  what  did  the  beast  and  the  kings  of  the  earth 
do  ?  The  prophet  says  nothing  at  all  of  what  they  did, 
and  his  silence  implies  clearly  that  they  effected  nothing  ; 
which  amounts  in  fact  to  saying,  that  it  is  no  longer  in  the 
power  of  man  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  Protestant  reli- 
gion amongst  the  kingdoms  of  the  world. 

The  sequel  of  this  great  preparation  by  the  beast  and  the 
kings  of  the  earth  is,  that  they  were  all  taken.  Like  an 
army  which  proudly  enters  the  field  of  battle  fully  equipped 
for  the  fight,  but  on  seeing  the  overpowing  force  of  the 
enemy  it  surrenders,  lays  down  its  arms,  and  becomes  prisoners 
of  war. 

But  let  us  inquire  what  measures  these  powers  will  be 
likely  to  adopt  in  their  last  efforts  to  arrest  the  march  of 
Protestantism.  What  I  shall  say  upon  this  point  is  merely 
conjectural,  as  it  relates  to  events  yet  future  ;  fifty  years 
hence  may  make  it  history. 

It  is  saying  nothing  more  of  the  Romish  Church  than  is 
admitted  on  all  hands  to  be  true — that  she  is  the  ever-watch- 
ful adversary  of  the  Protestant  religion,  and  that  her  own 
powers,  as  well  as  all  the  other  powers  that  she  can  draw 
into  her  service,  have  ever  been,  and  will  continue  to  be, 
enii)loyed  in  efforts  to  destroy  it, 

France,  as  she  was  the  first,  in  the  coronation  oath  of 
Charlemagne,  to  give  the  great  sword  to  the  support  of  Po- 


CHAPTER  XIX.  147 

pery,  so  she  will  be  the  last  to  refuse  her  aid  in  the  dcfeiifo  of 
that  religion.  Not  that  France  cares  a  fig  about  the  religion 
of  Rome,  any  more  than  she  cares  about  the  Protestant  reli- 
gion ;  but  from  the  long  habit  of  using  the  great  sword  for 
the  interests  of  Popery,  she  could  not  be  quite  contented  to 
see  that  religion  in  difliculties  without  espousing  its  cause. 
Besides,  there  seems  to  be  something  just  suited  to  the  gal- 
lantry and  the  prestige  of  the  French  nation,  to  be  for^  in- 
stead of  against  the  mistress  of  the  world  ! — the  woman, 
whose  golden  cup  contains  so  much  that  is  exactly  adapted 
to  the  infidel  and  lascivious  tastes  of  that  nation. 

France,  we  may  readily  suppose,  will  be  in  the  lead  in  the 
combined  army  of  the  beast  and  the  kings  of  the  earth.  Her  er- 
ratic and  accommodating  genius  will  suggest  suitable  measures 
and  plans  of  operation.  She  may  propose  to  the  kings  in 
league  with  her  the  creation  of  a  great  infidel  empire,  or  such 
an  atheistical  power  as  will  accord  with  the  sentiments  of 
her  first  revolutionary  convention,  and  establish  such  regula- 
tions as  will  render  it  impossible  for  the  subjects  of  Protest- 
ant nations  to  live  in  any  of  the  kingdoms  embraced  by  that 
empire,  as  Louis  XIY.  did  with  respect  to  his  own  Protest- 
ant subjects,  the  Huguenots. 

Publications  of  a  religious  character,  intended  to  expose 
the  errors  of  the  Romish  Church,  and  show  the  consistency 
and  truth  of  the  Protestant  religion,  will  be  excluded  from 
this  empire,  as  the  Protestant  Bible  now  is  from  Rome  and 
other  parts  of  Italy.  Even  commercial  intercourse  with 
Protestant  nations  may  become  difiicult,  if  it  does  not  entirely 
cease,  under  the  rigorous  exactions  of  the  infidel  empire. 
Measures  which,  of  themselves,  are  not  ostensibly  aimed 
against  the  progress  of  Protestantism,  will,  nevertheless, 
bring  about  others  more  distinctly  marked  with  that  pecu- 
liarity. 

Austria  will  be  a  conspicuous  power  in  this  league.  From 
Austria  no  one  would  expect  to  see  any  measures  either  of  a 
liberal  or  intelligent  policy.     Her  bigotry,  ignorance,  and 


148  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

cruelty,  make  her  a  proper  tool  for  the  purposes  of  Rome. 
Then  there  is  Spain  and  Portugal,  too,  once  as  mu(;h  distin- 
guished for  the  terror  and  agonies  of  the  inquisition,  the  spe- 
cial instrnnicnt  of  their  persecution  of  Christianity,  as  they 
are  now  for  the  hnbecility  and  poverty  of  their  superannuated 
governments.  These  kingdoms,  with  the  dregs  of  their  fee- 
ble nationality,  will  readily  bring  the  little  remaining  power 
they  may  have  to  aid  the  means  of  checking  Protestantism. 
Besides  these,  there  are  other  powers  of  inferior  rank  and 
extent  of  dominion,  scattered  amongst  the  greater  kingdoms 
of  Europe,  which  will  unite  in  the  same  effort. 

lluj^sia  has  no  particular  religious  affinities  with  the  rest  of 
Europe.  On  that  subject  she  stands  up  in  her  own  mountain 
strength,  isolated  and  indifferent.  She  fights  no  battles  either 
for  or  against  religion  of  any  name.  The  whole  scope  of  her 
l)olicy  is  to  keep  up  a  balance  of  power  which  will  best  secure 
her  own  political  aggrandizement. 

Protestantism  has  nothing  to  apprehend  from  Russia.  She 
backs  up  the  great  northern  wilds  of  Europe,  and  is  reserved 
for  some  great  work  in  the  purpose  of  Divine  Providence, 
which,  for  the  present,  does  not  lie  within  the  reach  of  politi- 
cal forecast  to  discover.  But  I  will  venture,  however,  a  con- 
jecture, and  that  is,  that  Russia  will  be  the  principal,  if  not 
the  only  power,  that  will  break  open  the  highway  for  the  re- 
turn of  the  Jews.  When  she  crosses  the  Balkan  Mountains 
again,  the  great  Euphrates  will  be  dried  up,  and  the  way  of 
the  kings  of  the  East  (the  Jews)  will  be  prepared. 

The  i)rogress  of  political  light  must  necessarily  be  very 
slow  in  Russia.  Her  subjects  are  scattered  over  almost  in- 
terminable plains  and  inaccessable  wulds.  No  system  for  im- 
proving their  condition  can  operate  otherwise  than  very  slowly. 
But  Russia  has  her  statesmen  and  her  merchants,  who  have 
free  intercourse  with  the  courts  and  commerce  of  Europe,  and 
they  compare  very  favorably  with  men  of  the  same  rank  and 
pursuit  in  the  most  refined  nations.  And  there  seems  to  be 
no  reason  to  doubt,  that  as  fast  as  the  circumstances  and 


CHAPTER  XIX.  149 

condition  of  her  people  can  be  made  subject  to  measures  of 
general  improvement,  such  measures  will  be  promi>tly  pro- 
vided. It  is  quite  certain  that  no  monarch  in  Europe  takes 
more  interest  in  the  great  improvements  of  the  age,  or  piiys 
with  more  profuse  liberality  to  secure  the  benefits  of  them  to 
his  own  people,  than  the  Emperor  Nicholas  does. 

But  this  is  a  digression.  Let  us  now  return  to  the  beast  and 
the  kings  of  the  earth  who  are  associated  with  him.  I  have 
said  that  this  supposed  league  will  not  attempt  to  accomplish 
its  work  by  the  sword.  Any  direct  attempt  to  suppress  re- 
ligious freedom  in  this  way,  would  meet  with  no  favor  from 
public  sentiment  in  the  enlightened  day  to  which  this  vision 
points. 

But  whatever  the  means  may  be,  they  will,  doubtless,  ori- 
ginate with  the  beast.  The  secret  springs  wliich  will  put 
them  in  motion  will  be  found  in  Rome — that  lofty  eminence 
of  a  false  religion,  from  whose  watch-towers  the  Uttle  horn 
full  of  eyes,  described  by  Daniel,  is  unceasingly  employed  in. 
watcliing  the  religious  movements  of  all  Protestant  countries, 
and  in  adapting  her  counteracting  policy  to  meet  and  defeat 
every  effort  that  may  promise  to  enlighten  tlie  Christian 
world  and  advance  the  interests  of  civil  and  religious  liberty. 

But  the  end  of  all  those  measures  is  a  total  defeat  of  tlieir 
authors  and  the  overthrow  of  their  power.  This  is  stated  in 
t]je  twentieth  verse  with  respect  to  the  beast  and  the  false 
prophet.  These  were  taken,  and  were  both  cast,  alive,  into 
a  lake  of  fire  burning  with  brimstone. 

The  beast,  I  repeat,  is  popery  in  its  temporal  dominion — 
its  distiniit  political  existence  amongst  the  kingdoms  of  tlie 
earth.  Tliis  dominion  will  be  taken  away,  and  the  papal 
government,  as  a  distinct  political  power  in  Eurojje,  will 
cease  to  be. 

Tliis  temporal  power  of  the  Pope  has  ever  been  tlie  bul- 
wark of  his  religious  power  ;  and  when  the  first  falls,  or  is 
taken,  as  the  text  says,  the  latter,  or  his  spiritual  power,  will 
be  deprived  of  its  principal  source  of  vitality. 


150  THE  APOCALYPSE  UXYEILED. 

But  still  there  is  one  great  auxiliary  wliicli  has  po^vtTfully 
sustained  the  authority  of  ttte  Pope  throughout  the  world — 
namely,  the  false  prophet,  that  wrought  miracles,  Ijy  wliich 
he  deceived  them  that  had  received  the  mark  of  the  beast 
and  them  that  worshiped  his  image.  By  those  miracles  the 
false  prophet  had  greatly  contributed  to  keep  up  the  delu- 
sions of  popery,  both  in  its  political  and  religious  character. 
And  popery,  as  a  religious  system,  might  still  retain  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  influence  and  authority,  even  after  the 
loss  of  its  temporal  power,  provided  it  could  continue  to  re- 
ceive the  support  of  the  false  prophet.  But  the  false  prophet 
is  taken,  too,  as  well  as  the  beast  ;  so  that  nothing  remains 
to  popery  but  its  simple  ecclesiastic  form. 

I  have  explained  before  what  I  suppose  to  be  meant  by 
the  false  prophet.  I  suppose  this  allusion  to  be  to  the  pow- 
erful and  influential  society  of  Jesuits. 

Their  superior  learning,  and  familiar  acquaintance  with 
those  higher  branches  of  science,  but  little  understood,  even 
by  men  of  noble  birth  and  high  political  standing,  in  the 
early  days  of  the  Reformation  ;  combined  with  their  devotion 
to  the  Romish  Church,  placed  the  education  and  training  of 
the  youthful  mind  almost  exclusively  under  their  guidance. 
Besides  this,  they  were  generally  about  the  courts  of  kings, 
and  on  every  suitable  occasion,  they  would  make  such  dis- 
plays of  their  superior  learning  and  knowledge  as  to  astonish 
both  the  court  and  the  people.  Nothing  more,  I  apprehend, 
is  meant  by  working  miracles,  than  the  amazement  and 
wonder  produced  by  these  exhibitions  of  their  superior 
learning,  which  gave  them  great  influence  over  people  of 
every  rank  and  condition. 

These  men,  like  Jannes  and  Jambres,  who  withstood  Moses 
and  Aaron  in  Egypt,  deceiving  the  people  of  that  day  by  their 
pretended  miracles,  have  withstood  the  Protestant  religion 
by  the  same  means,  although  it  came,  like  Moses  and  Aaron, 
to  deliver  the  people  from  the  bondage  of  an  idolatrous 
religion. 


CHAPTER  XIX.  151 

Both  the  least  and  the  false  prophet  were  cast  alive  into  a 
lake  of  fire  burning  with  brimstone. 

This  singular  expression — being  cast  alive  into  tliis  hike, 
can  only  signify  that  tlieir  religion  was  an  inciirahle  evil !  so 
utterly  opposed  and  callous  to  all  the  gospel  remedies  as  to 
be  beyond  the  reach  of  recovery,  and  they  were,  therefore, 
hopelessly  doomed  to  destruction. 

The  case  of  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet  has  a  remark- 
able parallel  In  the  history  of  the  three  men  who  raised 
rebellion  in  the  Israelitish  camp  :  Korah,  Dathan  and  Abi- 
ram.  These  men  would  not  be  subdued  and  reformed,  by 
either  the  mild  means,  or  the  threatened  judgments  of  hea- 
ven, addressed  to  them  by  Moses,  but  perversely  persisted 
in  their  opposition  to  the  divinely-appointed  regulations, 
until  the  earth  opened  her  mouth,  and  they,  with  their  guilty 
adherents,  went  down  alive  into  the  pit. 

The  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone  is  figuratively  used  to 
signify  a  state  or  condition  of  agony — indescribable  torment. 
We  find  it  in  common  use  with  our  Lord  and  his  apostles, 
w^hen  they  would  convey  the  idea  of  extreme  wretchedness. 

The  beast  and  false  prophet  are  represented  as  being 
thrown  into  such  a  state  alive!  living  or  existing  in  such 
a  condition  of  agony,  as  is  expressed  in  a  previous  chap- 
ter, by  gnawing  the  tongue  with  anguish.  This  state  has 
no  reference  to  corporeal  or  physical  suiTerings. 

The  inquiry  is  natural :  what  will  produce  this  state  of 
anguish  ?  I  answer,  the  chagrin  and  mortification  of  their 
overthrow.  The  beast  that  once  lorded  it  over  the  kings  of 
the  earth,  is  now  degraded,  cast  down,  and  stript  of  his 
power  and  influence  ;  and,  in  short,  has  become  a  by-word 
and  reproach  amongst  the  nations.  The  great  merchants  of 
the  earth  we  have  seen  in  the  preceding  chapter,  were  thrown 
into  the  greatest  grief  because  no  man  Ijuyeth  their  mer- 
chandise any  more.  The  whole  system  of  popish  religion 
becomes  worthless  in  the  eyes  of  men,  and  is  looked  upon 
with  scorn  and  derision.     The  laborious  husbandman  will  not 


152  TTTE  APOCALTPSE  UNVEILED. 

then  be  compelled  to  pay  the  priest  for  the  privilege  of  drink- 
ing the  milk  and  eating  the  butter  which  he  gets  from  his 
own  kiue  ; — nor  will  the  people  from  the  four  quarters  of  the 
earth  depend  upon  the  sanction  of  one  man  in  Rome  to  be 
allowed  to  use  a  little  fat  in  preparing  their  daily  meals. 
Such  things  are  now  regarded,  most  conscientiously,  as  sacred 
duties,  by  the  great  mass  of  the  Romish  Church,  and  they, 
no  doubt,  act  from  principle.  But  when  the  beast  is  taken, 
these  absurdities  will  be  so  obvious,  that,  instead  of  being 
venerated  as  religious  obligations,  the  people  will  be  aston- 
ished that  men  could  ever  have  been  so  blinded  as  to  connect 
them  at  all  with  matters  of  religion. 

The  intmiate  connection  subsisting  between  the  beast  and 
the  false  prophet  will  make  their  fate  identical.  The  great 
influence  which  the  Jesuits  have  had  with  the  governments 
of  the  earth,  will  be  lost,  they  will  be  discarded  by  the  kings, 
and  driven  from  country  to  country,  and  only  allowed  to 
dwell  anywhere,  under  the  most  stringent  laws,  imposed  upon 
them  to  prevent  the  propagation  of  their  principles.  This 
has  been  precisely  the  treatment  they  have  received  from 
several  of  the  governments  in  Europe,  to  guard  against  what 
was  supposed  the  dangerous  consequences  of  their  peculiar 
politico-religious  principles. 

Such  a  reverse  as  this  in  the  affairs  of  that  learned  body 
would  necessarily  inflict  the  keenest  anguish  upon  their  minds. 
And  all  this  is  done  by  the  progress  of  the  gospel — it  has 
thrown  these  two  opposing  powers  into  this  lake,  which 
will  give  their  future  existence  the  mortification  of  being  dis- 
carded and  despised.  This  is  the  fire  and  brimstone  with 
which  that  lake  burns. 

The  sixteenth  chapter  contains  the  scenes  of  this  vision,  in 
part,  under  the  sixth  vial.  There,  this  effort  to  resist  the 
power  of  the  Protestant  religion,  is  said  to  have  been  pro- 
duced by  unclean  spirits  which  came  out  of  the  mouth  of  the 
beast,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  dragon,  and  out  of  the 


CHAPTER  XIX.  153 

mouth  of  the  false  prophet.  But  the  result  is  given  in  the 
nineteenth  chapter. 

But  the  remnant — that  is,  the  kings  of  the  earth  who  had 
been  led  into  this  alliance,  by  those  three-fold  influences,  with 
the  beast  and  the  false  prophet,  were  slain  with  the  sword  of 
him  that  sat  upon  the  horse,  which  sword  proceeded  out  of 
his  mouth — meaning  the  gospel  now  preached  amongst  the 
nations  generally. 

Those  kings,  or  rather  the  people  over  whom  they  rule, 
will  imbibe  the  light  and  influence  of  the  gospel  to  such  an 
extent,  that,  if  the  kings  themselves  do  not  embrace  it,  yet 
they  will  find  it  necessary  to  pause  in  their  opposition  to  it, 
and  to  grant  to  their  subjects  the  fullest  enjoyment  of  reli- 
gious liberty. 

In  this  manner  they  will  be  slain  with  the  gospel  sword, 
their  opposition  will  be  neutralized,  and  they  will  dissever 
their  alliance  with  the  beast  and  false  prophet.  This  will 
fully  prepare  the  great  supper,  and  all  the  fowls  will  be  filled 
with  their  flesh. 

Protestantism,  in  Europe,  has  battled  with  the  powers  of 
religious  and  civil  despotism  for  the  last  half  century  with 
constantly-increasing  success  ;  while  the  United  States  of 
America  also  entered  the  field,  wielding,  with  wonderful 
efifect,  the  weapon  of  her  prosperous  and  happy  repubUcan 
government,  and  the  right,  secured  to  all,  of  a  free  and  unre- 
strained enjoyment  of  religious  opinions  and  worship. 

The  influence  of  this  country  has  been  felt  in  Europe  most 
sensibly,  and  one  of  the  effects  of  it  is  strikingly  exhibited  in 
the  emigration,  which  is  every  year  pouring  vast  multitudes 
upon  our  shores  from  all  the  countries  of  Europe. 

In  this  way  millions  will  be  brought  under  the  benignant 
influence  of  the  gospel  who  were  denied  the  liberty  of  hearing 
its  voice  of  mercy  in  their  own  land,  and  their  children  will 
grow  up  in  the  midst  of  light  which  their  fathers  never  saw. 

But  the  events  which  strike  most  directly  at  the  power  of 

VOL.  II. — 7* 


154  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

the  beast  and  the  false  prophet  on  this  continent,  have 
transpired  within  a  few  years  only. 

In  order  to  a  proper  idea  of  the  extent  of  that  power,  we 
must  look  at  the  religious  condition  of  all  South  America, 
from  Mexico  to  Cape  Horn. 

Leaving  their  despotic,  distracted,  and  self-devouring  po- 
litical governments  out  of  the  question,  what  is  their  reli- 
gious state  but  a  vast  mass  of  putrid  morality,  constantly 
sending  up  an  insufferable  stench,  as  offensive  to  the  purity 
of  Heaven  as  it  is  debasing  to  the  character  of  man. 

Every  candid  man,  no  matter  of  what  religion,  who  has 
paid  the  least  attention  to  the  religious  state  of  South 
America,  must  admit  that  this  picture  of  it  is  not  too  strongly 
colored.  A  late  traveler  in  that  country  (Stephens)  gives 
in  his  book,  without  intending  to  write  the  history  of  its  reli- 
gion, a  picture  no  less  dark  and  disgusting. 

The  padr-.'s,  who  rule  the  uncultivated  and  ignorant  popu- 
lation, are  utterly  incapable  of  elevating  the  moral  character 
of  the  people,  because  they  are  themselves  ignorant  of  the 
religion  which  alone  can  exalt  and  improve  the  corrupt  na- 
ture of  man. 

Walled  in,  as  the  people  of  South  America  are,  by  super- 
stition, bigotry,  and  despotism,  and  ready  at  any  time  to  use 
violent  measures  towards  those  who  dare  to  oppose  their  re- 
ligion, what  possible  chance  would  there  be  of  ever  reaching 
them  by  means  of  religious  efforts  ?  Missionaries  would  not 
be  allowed  to  exist  amongst  them.  A  mightier  power,  spring- 
ing out  of  the  combined  influence  of  civil  government  with 
religious  effort,  is  necessary  to  meet  the  moral  state  of  society 
as  it  exists  in  South  America. 

Without  regarding  at  all  the  motives  which  influenced 
politicians  in  bringing  about  events  that  have  changed  the 
relations  of  the  United  States  and  Mexico  so  materially,  it 
does  seem  quite  providential  that  Texas  was  wrested  from 
the  power  of  Mexico. 

Texas  was  not  seized  upon  and  torn  from  the  dominion  of 


CHAPTER  XIX.  155 

Mexico,  by  the  government  of  the  United  States.  There 
was  no  crusade  got  up  for  the  conquest  of  Mexican  territory. 
It  was  rather  the  work  of  private,  or  individual  enterprise. 
But  so  it  was,  Texas  was  cut  off  from  amongst  the  ill- 
governed  and  impoverished  provinces  of  Mexico,  and  subse- 
quently became  a  free  Protestant  state,  and  is  now  giving 
the  strongest  evidence  in  her  prosperity  and  rising  greatness, 
in  the  physical  and  moral  improvement  that  always  follows 
the  introduction  of  that  religion  into  a  country  which  had 
before  been  under  the  benighted  and  thriftless  dominion  of 
the  beast  and  the  false  prophet. 

The  annexation  of  Texas  led  to  the  war  with  Mexico ;  and 
this  resulted  in  throwing  open  the  South  American  con- 
tinent to  the  spread  of  the  Protestant  religion,  from  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

The  territory  of  the  United  States,  stretching  through  tlie 
very  heart  of  this,  little  better  than  pagan  country,  will  in- 
troduce such  impr  )vements  in  arts  and  agriculture,  as  well  as 
in  government  and  religion,  as  will  change  the  whole  face  of 
the  country,  and  will  greatly  improve  the  civil  and  social 
condition  of  the  people. 

But,  in  the  eye  of  Christianity,  the  most  important  results 
of  these  political  changes,  is  seen  in  the  acquisition  of  a 
great  central  position  for  missionary  operations. 

San  Francisco  is  this  position  ;  while  its  inland  trade  will 
reach  over  all  Mexico  and  its  neighboring  provinces,  its  vast 
commerce  is  destined  to  traverse  the  whole  Pacific,  and  open 
a  way  to  the  benighted  nations  of  Asia.  The  Christian  plii- 
lanthropist  looks  to  California  as  the  seat  of  a  great  mission- 
ary temple,  whose  base  will  cover  all  the  newly-acquired 
country,  and  from  its  lofty  towers  will  blaze  the  beacon 
lights  of  the  Protestant  religion,  shining  over  all  South 
America,  and  the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  and  reaching  the 
distant  shores  of  Asia,  it  will  illumine  the  idolatrous  regions 
of  that  benighted  continent. 

The  people  have  gone  to  work  as  though  they  understood 


156  THE  APOCALYPSE  UN  VEILED. 

all  about  the  great  result  whicli  is  to  be  achieved.  They  dig 
gold  and  build  cljurches  ;  they  enlarge  the  sphere  of  civil 
government,  and  spread  the  light  of  the  Protestant  religion. 
And,  by  means  of  tracts  and  Bibles,  and  preaching  the  word, 
San  Francisco  will  soon  resemble  Jerusalem  of  old,  where 
every  one,  no  matter  what  country  he  came  from,  or  what 
language  he  spoke,  heard,  in  his  own  tongue,  the  wonder- 
ful works  of  God. 

The  art  of  printjng  speaks  in  all  languages  ;  it  talks  with 
all  people  in  their  own  tongue,  and  may  be  said  to  effect  by 
its  own  simple  forms,  all  that  was  effected  by  the  miraculous 
gift  of  tongues  in  the  hearing  of  the  people  of  all  nations  in 
Jerusalem  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  This  is  the  angel  we 
have  already  been  introduced  to  by  the  prophet,  of  whom  he 
tells  us,  the  earth  was  lightened  with  his  glory. 

THE  DAY  OF  JUDGMENT. 

The  gospel  day  is  adapted  to  man  in  his  pupilage — it  is 
suited  to  the  weakness  of  his  moral  perceptions.  The  Jewish 
economy  was  but  a  system  of  types  and  shadows  ;  and  when 
that  had  served  its  foreshadowing  purpose  and  fell  to  pieces, 
men  were  brought  under  the  Christian  economy,  the  school 
of  Christ,  in  which  they  were  to  learn,  and  become  practically 
acquainted  with  those  truths  of  divine  revelation,  which  were 
only  referred  to  under  the  Jewish  economy  by  misty  types 
and  shadows. 

As  learners  in  this  school,  and  possessing  but  very  little 
moral  capacity  and  perception,  much  forbearance,  much  ten- 
derness and  indulgence  were  necessary.  But  this  treatment 
would  be  as  much  out  of  place  with  men  when  they  have  ac- 
(|uired  a  strength  and  maturity  in  their  moral  powers,  as 
harshness  and  severity  would  have  been  in  the  incipient 
stage  of  their  instruction. 

The  day  of  judgment  will  be  no  less  a  part  of  the  divine 
government  over  men  upon  earth,  than  the  day  of  gospel 


CHAPTER  XIX.  157 

grace  is.  In  each  the  divine  economy  is  employed  in  perfect 
ing  the  jndg-ment-day  purposes  of  God  towards  man.  Tlie 
two  periods,  however,  ditl'er  widely  in  the  mode  of  adminis- 
tering the  divine  government. 

The  gospel  day  is  the  exhibition  of  grace,  almost  without 
limit.  The  language  of  St.  Paul  (Rom.  iii.)  is:  Being  justi- 
fied freely  by  his  grace,  through  the  rede?)iption  thai  is  in  Jesus 
Christ,  whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation,  through 
faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare  his  righteousness  for  the  remission 
of  sins  that  are  past,  through  the  forbearance  of  God  ;  therefore 
we  conclude  that  a  man  is  justified  by  faith  without  the  deeds  of 
the  law. 

Now  hear  what  our  Savior  says,  (Matthew  xii.):  But  I 
say  unto  you,  that  every  idle  word  that  men  shall  speak  they  shall 
give  account  thereof  in  the  day  of  judgment.  For  by  thy  words 
thou  shall  be  justified,  and  by  thy  loords  thou  shall  be  condemned. 
By  the  deeds  of  the  law  men  will  then  be  justified. 

Evidently,  here  are  two  dispensations,  widely  different  in 
their  manner  of  dealing  with  men.  The  first  superabounds 
in  mercy  and  grace,  wdiile  the  second  requires  of  man  the 
most  rigid  accountability  for  his  every  act,  and  makes  his  ac- 
ceptance with  God  to  depend  upon  a  strict  conformity  of  his 
whole  life  to  the  rigid  requirements  of  the  law  of  God. 

These  tw^o  principles  in  the  divine  government,  diffcriug  so 
widely  in  their  application  to  men,  can  never  be  reconciled 
but  upon  the  ground  of  two  different  dispensations  ;  and  this 
I  understand  our  Lord  to  mean  :  It  is  in  the  day  of  judg- 
ment that  men  shall  give  accomit  for  every  idle  word  they  shall 
then  speak. 

The  sayings  of  our  Lord  and  his  apostles  on  the  subject  of 
the  judgment  day,  are  innumerable,  and  there  is  also  fre- 
quent reference  to  it  in  the  old  testament  prophets.  I  shall 
present  only  a  few  of  these  sayings,  with  a  view  to  establish 
the  general  character  of  that  day.  But,  in  the  first  place, 
let  us  look  at  those  texts  that  refer  to  the  close  of  the  gospel 
day. 


158  THE  ArOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

The  broad  and  unequivocal  declaration  of  Christ  to  that 
effect  has  been  already  quoted  ;  it  i^  this  :  And  this  gospel  of 
the  kingdom  shall  he  preached  in  alt  the  world  for  a  witness 
unto  all  nations,  and  then  shall  the  end  come.  The  end  refer- 
red to  is  the  end  of  the  gospel,  the  cessation  of  gospel  means 
as  they  are  now  known  and  experienced  ;  these  will  be  no 
longer  experienced  when  that  end  comes. 

The  parable  of  the  ten  virgins  shows  the  end  of  the  gospel 
day.  While  the  foolish  virgins  went  to  replenish  their  vessels 
with  oil,  the  bridegroom  came,  and  they  that  were  ready 
went  in  with  him  to  the  marriage — and  the  door  was  shut. 
Agreeing  with  this  parable  is  that  saying  of  our  Lord,  on 
another  occasion  :  When  the  master  of  the  house  has  risen  up 
and  hath  shut  to  the  door.  Thus  showing  that  there  will  be 
an  end  of  the  gospel  dispensation  during  the  present  life,  and 
that  the  dispensation  which  will  follow  it,  will  present  no 
such  abounding  mercy  and  grace  as  that  which  distinguishes 
the  gosi)el  day. 

This  view  is  further  confirmed  in  what  Christ  said  in  refer- 
ence to  the  judgment  period  :  In  that  day  ye  shall  desire  to 
see  one  of  the  days  of  the  Son  of  Man,  but  ye  shall  not  see  it. 
The  days  of  the  Son  of  Man  it  is  well  understood  signify  the 
gospel  days. 

The  revelation  that  God  has  made  to  man,  teaches  him, 
that  after  the  present  dispensation  closes,  the  judgment  day 
commences,  and  that  man's  existence  in  this  world  will  be 
continued  throughout  that  day,  as  it  is  now,  without  any 
oiher  change  than  that  which  will  be  produced  by  the 
diU'creuce  in  the  mode  of  divine  government,  as  above 
stated. 

This  judgment  day  will  probably  be  of  shorter  duration 
than  the  gospel  day.  It  will  be  employed  in  removing  and 
clearing  away  all  that  is  corrupt,  and  which  unfits  man  for 
the  kingdom  of  God  ;  that  great  and  ultimate  end  of  all  the 
disj)C'isations  of  the  divine  government  over  man. 

We  cannot  fail  to  see  that  this  will  be  the  design  of  the 


CHAPTER  XIX.  159 

rigid  and  severe  govenimeut  of  that  period,  if  we  pay  atten- 
tion to  the  sayings  of  Christ  in  relation  to  it. 

The  great  portion  of  mankind  which  will  be  found  enemies 
to  God  when  that  day  comes,  and  the  tares  which  have 
grown  up  with  tlie  wheat,  will  then  be  separated  and  dis- 
posed of  by  other  means  than  those  now  employed  in  the 
gospel  dispensation.  The  present  means  are  of  a  merciful 
and  forbearing  nature  ;  they  beseech  men  to  become  recon- 
ciled to  God,  and  be  saved  ;  but  they  have  not  succeeded  in 
reclaiming  mankind  entirely,  nor  in  preventing  the  growth  of 
pernicious  errors  even  amongst  churches,  organized  expressly 
to  aid  in  evangelizing  the  world. 

Christ's  kingdom  will  then  be  no  longer  the  kingdom  of 
grace,  dispensing  its  requirements  under  the  mild,  persuasive 
mercy  of  the  gospel,  but  it  will  be  changed  into  a  kingdom  of 
stern  law,  in  which  judgment  is  executed  rigorously  upon  na- 
tions and  individuals,  when  the  secrets  of  all  hearts  are  made 
known,  and  the  hidden  things  of  dishonesty  will  be  brought 
to  light.  These  texts  are  intended  to  show  that  such  will  be 
the  close  and  searching  scrutiny  of  the  divine  government  into 
every  man's  character,  that  it  will  be  impossible  for  men,  by 
any  means  of  deceit  or  hypocrisy,  to  elude  the  decisions  or 
judgments  of  that  day,  which  will  make  every  man  known, 
even  in  his  private  works  ;  for  the  searching  fire  of  the  judg- 
ments of  that  day  will  reveal  his  true  character. 

The  effect  of  this  judgment  will  distinguish  the  wicked  from 
the  good,  and  exalt  the  nations  that  walk  in  the  law  of  the 
Lord,  or  who  had  received  and  embraced  the  gospel  of  Christ, 
to  dignity  and  honor,  whilst  those  who  had  rejected  it  will  be 
marked  in  some  conspicuous  manner  by  the  displeasure  of  the 
Judge  ;  so  that  it  will  be  manifest  to  all  the  world  who  are 
the  righteous  and  who  are  the  wicked  amongst  those  nations. 

The  Christianity  of  the  gospel  day,  in  its  ditlerent  denomi- 
national forms,  abounds  with  tares,  all  of  which  are  to  be  re- 
moved. Christianity  itself  did  not  produce  these  tares  ;  tlu^y 
were  mingled  with  the  good  seed,  our  Savior  says,  by  an 


160  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

enemy,  and  whilst  men  slept.    These  tares  grew  up,  it  is  wor 
thy  of  remark,  during  the  gosj)d  dispensation,  and  it  is  obvi- 
ous that  it  requires  other  means — a  different  administration 
of  the  divine   government — to   rid   the    Christian   field   of 
them. 

The  parable  on  the  subject  of  tares  (xiii.  chap,  of  Mat- 
thew) shows  conclusively  that  there  are  errors  which  have 
become  so  intertwined  with  Christianity,  that  the  means  ne- 
cessary to  their  removal  cannot  be  employed  in  the  present 
day  without  producing  an  injurious  eifect  upon  Christianity 
itself.  Therefore,  Christ  said,  let  both  grow  together  until 
the  end  of  the  world,  the  end  of  the  gospel  economy,  lest  if 
ye  now  attempt  to  gather  up  the  tares,  ye  root  up  also  the 
wheat  with  them. 

We  see  from  this,  that  this  end  spoken  of  is  that  time  when 
the  gospel,  in  its  present  aspect,  will  no  longer  be  preached 
amongst  the  nations,  and  the  judgment  day,  or  age,  will  com- 
mence ;  during  which  day,  the  means  necessary  effectually  to 
remove  the  tares  will  take  the  place  of  the  gospel. 

In  explaining  this  parable  our  Lord  says  :  As,  therefore, 
the  tares  are  gathered  and  burned  in  the  fire,  so  shall  it  he  in  the 
end  of  the  world.  The  Son  of  Man  shall  send  forth  his  angels, 
[means  properly  adapted  to  the  work,]  and  th^y  shall  gather 
out  of  his  Idngdom  all  things  that  offend  and  them  which  do  in- 
iquity. 

Tiie  parable  of  the  net  which  was  cast  into  the  sea  has  re- 
ference to  the  same  thing.  This  net  gathered  of  every  kind, 
and,  when  full,  they  drew  it  to  the  shore,  and  sat  down  and 
gathered  the  good  into  vessels,  but  cast  the  bad  away.  The 
gospel  net  has  gathered  up  a  great  variety  of  Christian  sys- 
tems, good  and  bad,  which  can  only  be  purged  and  brought 
to  the  purity  of  the  Christian  standard  by  the  process  through 
which  they  will  be  carried  in  the  judgment  day. 

Nothing  is  said  which  more  fully  explains  the  mode  of  the 
divine  government  in  the  judgment  day  than  what  Christ 
says  :    The  Son  of  Man  shall  send  forth  his  angels,  and  they 


CHAPTER  XTX  Id 

shall  gather  out  of  his  kingdom  all  things  that  offend  and  them 
which  do  iiiiquity. 

The  proper  means  employed  to  effect  any  particular  end  in 
carrying  on  the  government  of  God  over  men  are  denomi- 
nated angels,  and  the  means  here  referred  to  are  probably 
the  prompt  enforcement  of  the  penalties  of  the  divine  law 
upon  all  transgressions,  not  at  some  indefinitely-remote  pe- 
riod, but  simultaneously  with  the  act  of  transgression,  Uke 
the  Adamic  law — in  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely 
die. 

Men,  in  the  present  dispensation,  sin  with  apparent  impu- 
nity ;  they  are  careless,  and  regard  the  threatenings  of  God's 
word  with  indifference.  The  punishment  for  disobedience  is 
far  off,  in  their  thoughts,  and  because  sentence  against  an  evil 
work  is  not  executed  speedily,  therefore  the  heart  of  the  sons  of 
men  is  fully  set  in  them  to  do  evil.* 

But  suppose  every  act  of  wickedness  should  receive  its  just 
punishment  at  the  time  of  its  perpetration,  would  not  men  be 
afraid  to  trifle  with  God's  law  as  they  now  do  ?  And  would 
not  all  things  that  offend  against  purity  and  holiness  be 
speedily  laid  aside  ?  This,  I  suppose,  will  be  the  mode  of 
separating  the  tares  from  amongst  the  wlujat,  and  removing 
all  thhigs  that  offend  out  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  tiie 
judgment  day. 

St.  Paul,  in  his  discourse  before  the  learned  Athenians, 
speaks  of  this  day  and  its  peculiar  government  in  terms  which 
plainly  show  that  it  is  connected  with  man's  earthly  existence- 
Because  (says  the  apostle)  he  hath  appointed  a  day  in  which  he 
will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness  by  that  man  whom  he  hath 
ordained  ;  whereof  he  hath  given  assurance,  unto  all  men  in  that 
he  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead. 

Judging  the  world  in  righteousness,  is  synonymous  with 
governing  the  world  in  righteousness.  Judging  Israel,  was 
the  common  phrase  used  to  express  the  act  of  governing 

*  Ecclesiastes,  viii.  cliap.  11  verse. 


162  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

IsraL4  in  the  time  of  the  judges.  The  word  judged,  is  fre- 
quently used  in  this  sense,  as  well  as  in  the  sense  implying  de- 
fense, protection,  and  maintaining  the  rights  of  the  oppressed. 
Indeed  there  is  hardly  any  word  in  Scripture  which  has  a 
greater  variety  of  significations  in  its  use  than  the  word  judg- 
ment. 

Tliis  governing  the  world  in  righteousness  by  Christ  Jesus, 
will  bring  out  in  grand  relief  before  the  whole  intelligent  cre- 
ation, the  glorious  designs  of  the  Creator  in  connecting  this 
earth,  and  man  as  its  lord  and  inhabitant,  with  his  vast  uni- 
verse. 

What  just  conception  can  be  entertained  of  the  design  of 
God  in  creating  this  world,  from  what  we  see  in  its  present 
and  past  government  by  men  ?  We  behold  little  else  than 
ambition,  oppression,  injustice,  selfishness,  and  cruelty — per- 
sonal aggrandizement,  sought  at  the  expense  of  truth  and 
virtue.  None  can  suppose  that  it  was  for  such  ends  as  these 
that  God  created  this  world  and  placed  man  over  it.  But 
when  it  comes  to  be  governed  in  righteousness  by  Christ, 
whom  God  has  appointed  for  that  purpose,  then  men  will  see 
and  better  understand  the  great  designs  of  the  Creator. 
They  will  then,  with  admiring  angels,  exult  in  beholding  the 
harmony,  the  beauty,  and  the  glory,  which  will  continually 
shine  forth  from  the  grandeur  and  magnificence  of  the  uni- 
verse which  God  has  created.  Nothing  will  occur  to  mar 
the  physical  beauty,  the  moral  grandeur,  and  the  peace  and 
purity  of  the  world,  in  the  day  of  that  righteous  government. 
But,  before  that  happy  day  arrives,  the  judgment  day  has  to 
do  its  work  of  preparation  for  it.  Let  us  attend  to  some  of 
the  sayings  of  the  apostles  relative  to  the  judgment  dispensa- 
tion. 

From  what  both  Christ  and  his  apostles  have  said  respect- 
ing that  day,  it  is  quite  clear  that  it  will  be  a  period  in  which 
the  religious  principles  of  Christians  will  experience  the  se- 
verest trial  ;  for  all  things  that  offend  against  the  perfect 
law  of  the  Lord,  every  obliquity  will  be  visited  upon  men, 


CHAPTER  XIX.  163 

while  all  who  openly  and  presumptuously  do  iniquity  will  be 
taken  out  of  Christ's  kingdom. 

St.  Peter  dwells  upon  this,  with  particular  emphasis,  in  the 
fourth  chapter  of  his  First  Epistle,  in  wliich,  after  much  ex- 
hortation, in  a  general  way,  he  says  :  But  the  end  of  all  things 
is  at  hand  ;  he  ye  therefore  sober  and  watch  unto  'prayer.  Peter 
had  learned  from  the  teachings  of  his  Divine  Master  that  the 
gospel  day  would  have  an  end,  and  that  it  would  be  succeeded 
by  a  period  of  severe  trial  to  Christians  and  all  the  world. 
He  adds,  after  the  warning  given  of  this  great  change  in  the 
moral  government  of  the  world  :  Beloved,  think  it  not  strange 
concerning  the  fiery  trial  lohich  is  to  try  you,  as  though  some 
strange  thing  had  happened  to  you.  For  the  time  is  come  [the 
rendering  would  have  been  more  consistent  if  the  translators 
had  given  the  reading,  is  to,  or  will  come]  that  judgment 
must  begin  at  the  house  of  God  ;  and  if  it  begin  at  us,  [mean- 
ing the  Church  of  God,]  ivhat  ivill  the  end  be  of  them  that  obey 
not  the  gospel  of  God  ? 

If  any  one  supposes  that  St.  Peter  was  speaking  of  the 
terrible  persecutions  which  fell  upon  the  Christians  in  Pagan 
Rome,  let  them  explain,  if  they  can,  where  and  how,  the 
same  power  that  brought  these  fiery  trials  upon  Christians, 
afterwards  punished  with  equal  or  greater  severity,  them  that 
obeyed  not  the  gospel  of  God. 

That  it  would  be  more  consistent  to  read  the  text  :  For 
the  time  icill  come,  or  is  to  come;  is  very  apparent,  from  the 
previous  part  of  the  chaptex,  in  which  the  apostle  speaks  of 
this  day  of  fiery  trial  as  prospective — yet  to  come  ;  and  })ar- 
ticularly  the  1st  chap.  :  7  verse.  The  end  of  all  things  is 
announced,  then  follows  these  fiery  trials.  Wiien  St.  Peter 
speaks  of  these  judgments  beginning  at  us ;  as  though  he 
was  to  be  a  subject  of  them  himself,  it  is  evident  he  means 
the  Church  of  God,  by  the  term  us.  St.  Peter  has  been 
dead  these  seventeen  hundred  years  and  more,  but  the  end 
of  all  things,  which  he  spoke  of,  is  not  come  yet! 

St.  Paul  is  speaking  of  the  same  time  when  he  refers  to 


164  THE  APOCALYPSK  UNVKILED. 

the  trials  to  which  that  day  will  subject  every  man's  work. 
(I  Corinthians,  11  chap.  13  versej:  Everyman's  work  shall 
he  made  manifest,  for  the  day  shall  declare  it,  because  it  shall 
he  revealed  hy  fire,  and  the  fire  shall  try  every  man's  work  of 
what  sort  it  is.  St.  Paul  speaks  of  all  this  as  something 
future.  This  day  of  St.  Paul,  which  is  to  try  every  man's 
work  by  fire,  is  the  same  day  referred  to  by  St.  Peter,  as  a 
time  of  fiery  trial,  and  they  both  mean  the  judgment  dispen- 
sation which  is  to  follow  the  gospel  dispensation. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  notice  objections,  which  I  am  sure 
will  be  made  to  this  theory  of  the  judgment  day — objections 
which  bring  with  them  the  force  of  long-established  opinions 
amongst  good  men,  as  well  as  the  authority  and  weight  of 
great  names. 

It  will  be  objected  to  this  mode  of  explaining  tlie  day  of 
judgment,  "  That  it  deprives  that  day  of  the  awful  pomp  and 
"  grandeur  with  which  the  commonly-received  opinion  of 
"  Christians  has  always  invested  it — that  it  does  away  with 
"  the  assembled  millions  of  earth's  inhabitants,  from  Adam 
"  down  to  the  last-ljovn  amongst  men,  all  of  whom  we  sup- 
"  posed  would  stand  before  the  bar  of  God,  in  solemn  silence, 
"  to  receive  the  sentence  of  approval  or  condemnation  of  the 
"  Omniscient  Judge." 

This  is  the  po})uhir  0})inion  on  this  sul)ject,  and  poets  have 
embellished  it  with  their  various  fancies  ;  giving  it  as  many 
features  and  forms  as  their  difi'erent  tastes  might  suggest. 

But  I  do  not  regard  poetry  as  of  any  authority  on  a  sub- 
ject like  this.  The  attributes  of  God  and  the  revelation  He 
has  given  to  man,  of  the  purposes  and  mode  of  his  govern- 
ment, are  a  safer  guide. 

The  common  opinion  of  the  day  of  judgment  looks  to  it  as 
the  period  when  sentence  will  be  pronounced  upon  all  men, 
botli  saint  and  sinner,  which  is  to  introduce  the  former  into 
the  felicities  of  heaven,  and  consign  the  latter  into  the  tor- 
ments of  hell! 

But  I  doubt  whether  any  experimental  Christian,  who 


CHArTER  XIX.  1G5 

lives  iu  the  enjoyment  of  the  consciousness  of  God's  favor, 
and  whose  hopes  of  future  happiness  are  supjjorted  by  a 
gospel  faith,  ever  entertains  this  opinion  as  a  religious  con- 
viction, of  the  scene  through  which  he  shall  pass  after  death. 
What  is  the  hope  of  such  a  Christian  ?  What  his  firm 
belief  ?  Why,  that  the  death  of  the  body  releases  him  from 
the  sorrows  of  this  life,  and  lets  him  into  the  joys  of  his  Lord. 
His  last  words,  as  he  sinks  in  death,  are,  not  that  he  is  going 
to  Q,  judgment  bar,  but  that  he  is  going  to  the  joys  of  heaven! 
and  his  happiness,  at  tliat  moment  of  his  departure  from  the 
world,  is  often  expressed  by  those  words,  as  they  fall  from 
his  dying  lips — 

"  Angels  beckon  me  away, 
And  Jesus  bids  me  come  !  " 

The  question  is  in  place  :  in  view  of  the  common  opinion 
of  the  judgment,  will  the  righteous  who  have  departed  this 
life,  in  all  ages  since  the  days  of  Adam,  and  have  gone  to 
their  rest  in  heaven,  have  their  state  of  happiness  interrupted 
and  be  called  away  from  the  society  of  God  and  angels,  to 
stand  before  a  judgment  bar,  to  await  the  sentence  of  the 
Judge,  which  is  to  entitle  them  to  eternal  life  ?  Can  such  a 
view  of  the  judgment  be  consistent  with  the  justice  and 
omniscience  of  God  ? 

And  of  the  wicked,  it  may  also  be  inquired  :  will  their 
state  of  punishment  be  suspended  while  they  are  brought* 
before  the  same  bar  with  the  righteous,  to  receive  the  sentence 
which  is  to  doom  them  to  everlasting  woe  ?  What  mind, 
enlightened  by  the  Cliristian  Scriptures,  can  seriously  enter- 
tain opinions  such  as  these  ?  ascribing  to  the  infinitely  holy 
and  all-wise  God,  a  procedure  in  his  government,  which 
would  discredit  the  imperfect  wisdom  of  frail  men  I 

But  to  escape  from  the  inconsistency  of  such  a  plan  of  the 
judgment  day,  some  tell  us  that  the  righteous  and  the  wicked 
do  not  enter  upon  their  respective  states  of  felicity  and  woe 
when  they  die  ;  but  they  occupy  some  intermediate  place  in 
the  universe,  neither  of  happiness  or  woe,  where  they  await 


166  THE  APOCALYrSE  UNVEILED. 

the  sentence  of  the  final  judgment  !  It  is  unecessary  to  say 
anytliing  more  in  answer  to  this  opinion  than  to  refer  it  to 
the  paraljle  of  Lazarus  and  the  rich  man.  In  the  presence 
of  that  parable,  uttered  by  our  Lord  himself,  it  stands 
rebuked  and  reprobated. 

But,  it  will  be  asked,  as  this  view  of  the  judgment  day 
limits  its  proceedings  to  the  people  and  nations  who  live  in 
that  time  ;  how  is  it  to  be  reconciled  to  the  following  texts 
in  the  writings  of  St.  Paul  :  For  we  shall  all  stand  before  the 
judgment  seat  of  Christ.  So  then  every  one  of  us  shall  give 
account  of  himself  to  God.  Kom.  xiv.  For  we  must  all  appear 
before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ,  that  every  one  may  receive 
the  things  done  in  his  body,  according  to  that  he  hath  done, 
whether  it  be  good  or  bad.  2  Cor.,  5  chap. 

From  these,  and  other  texts  of  a  similar  character,  the 
common  opinion  has  arisen  of  a  future  judgment  of  all  the 
human  family  at  one  time,  particularly  the  text  which  says  : 
It  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  but  after  this  the  judgment. 
It  might  be  a  sufficient  refutation  of  the  inference  drawn 
from  these  texts,  to  urge,  that  Christ  speaks  of  no  other 
judgment  than  that  which  gathers  the  nations  of  the  earth 
before  him  at  his  appearing.  But  I  think  the  sayings  of  St. 
Paul  are  susceptible  of  an  explanation  which  will  reconcile 
them  with  this  opinion  of  the  judgment  ;  or,  at  least  will 
show  that  they  do  not  contradict  it. 

In  referring  all  these  scriptures  which  seem  to  imply  the 
act  of  judgment,  or  the  conferring  rewards  and  punishments, 
to  some  period  after  death,  in  another  world,  the  gospel  sys- 
tem appears  to  be  quite  forgotten  ;  or,  at  least  to  be  re- 
garded as  presenting  no  present  rewards  or  punishments  ; 
that  God  does  not  either  reward  or  punish  men  in  this  life. 
Now,  no  one  can  look  into  the  history  of  the  Jewish  nation, 
without  being  forcibly  struck  with  the  frequent  exhibitions 
of  divine  judgment  u})on  that  people,  when  their  iniquities  pro- 
voked the  displeasure  of  the  Almighty. 

I  will  visit  the  iniquities  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children  to 


CHAPTER  XIX.  16t 

the  third  and  fourth  generation  of  them  thai  hate  me,  is  an 
established  principle  of  divine  government  over  man,  and  it 
is  not  likely  that  the  punishments  here  spoken  of  are  to  be 
looked  for  in  the  next  world.  Indeed  the  whole  economy  of 
the  old  testament  scriptures  stands  upon  the  ground  of  pun- 
ishment for  transgression  in  the  present  world,  and  treats  of 
the  judgments  of  God  as  designed  to  prevent  the  transgres- 
sions of  men  :  When  thy  judgments  are  in  the  earth  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  world  will  learn  righteousness,  was  the  doctrine 
taught  by  Isaiah.  And  can  the  Christian  system  be  less 
perfect  in  its  adaptation  to  the  ends  of  divine  government 
than  the  Jewish  system  was  ?  It  is  true  that  the  Christian 
code  breathes  mercy,  long-suffering,  much  forbearance  with 
the  ungodly  ;  but  still,  it  would  be  greatly  misconceiving  it, 
to  suppose  that  it  proposes  no  present  punishments  for  the 
obstinate  and  persevering  violation  of  its  laws. 

The  gospel  system,  or,  as  it  is  likewise  called,  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  has  its  laws;  and  it  administers  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments, in  a  modified  sense,  suited  to  its  forbearing  spirit  ; 
while  it  at  the  same  time  points  to  a  higher  and  and  more 
glorious  state  of  the  righteous,  and  a  deeper  condemnation 
of  the  ungodly  in  the  next  life. 

In  order  to  a  proper  understanding  of  the  apostle's  mean- 
ing in  the  texts  before  us,  we  must  take  a  comprehensive 
view  of  the  gospel  system  in  its  operations  and  designs. 

The  gospel  economy  is  a  spiritual  kingdom  or  moral  gov- 
ernment over  mankind,  having  all  the  laws  necessary  to  its 
object,  and  enforcing  them  by  the  application  of  such  rewards 
and  punishments  in  the  present  life  as  are  suited  to  its  great 
end,  which  is  to  train  men  for  a  higher  and  purer  state  of  in- 
tellectual and  moral  existence  hereafter. 

The  laws  of  this  kingdom,  which  are  its  doctrines  and 
teachings,  have  been  settled  and  established  by  Christ,  who 
is  the  head  of  it.  All  rules  of  duty,  as  subjects  of  civil  as 
well  as  religious  government,  are  there  laid  down,  and  it  is 
to  the  laws  of  this  kingdom  that  Christians  are  to  refer  all 


168  THE  APOCALYrSE  UNVEILED. 

questions  of  right  or  wrong,  and  they  must  conform  to  the  de- 
cisions of  those  laws,  or  suffer  the  punishment  connected  with 
their  neglect. 

In  this  sense,  I  consider  the  gospel  system  to  be  the  judg- 
merit  seat  of  Christ,  or  the  bar  of  Christ,  referred  to  by  the 
apostles,  before  which  we,  as  Christians,  must  all  stand  or 
appear. 

Our  faith  and  practice  must  be  subjected  to  the  judgments 
or  decisions  of  this  bar,  and  we  are  either  justified  by  them 
or  we  are  condemned. 

How  singular  it  would  appear  if  the  gospel  system,  designed 
to  discipline  men,  should  present  no  considerations  of  a 
chastening  nature,  which  all  admit  to  be  necessary  to  man  in 
his  present  state.  Whom  he  loveth  he  chastcneth,  and  scourgcih 
every  son  whom  he  recciveth.  Now,  this  chastening  must  be 
necessary  for  the  things  done  in  the  body — that  is,  done  in  the 
present  time.  I  consider  these  texts,  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans  and  the  2  Cor.,  as  referring  to  the  exercise  of  the 
divine  government,  through  and  by  the  gospel  as  an  instru- 
mentality. Its  laws  are  in  constant  course  of  administration, 
in  rewarding  the  faithful  follower  of  his  Lord,  and  in  visiting 
with  God's  displeasure  the  unrighteous,  in  such  ways  as  are 
suited  to  the  hfe  of  man  in  this  present  world.  The  language 
of  the  apostle,  I  think,  is  quite  in  favor  of  this  view  of  his 
texts,  where  he  speaks  of  the  bar  and  the  judgment  seat  of 
Christ. 

Christians,  in  that  early  day  of  the  gospel,  frequently  fell 
into  sliarp  controversies  about  non-essentials.  The  old  Jew- 
ish canon,  for  a  long  time,  worked  itself  into  the  Christian 
Church,  and  gave  much  trouble  respecting  the  use  of  meats 
and  the  oljservance  of  days.  The  apostle,  in  order  to  quiet 
these  dissensions,  and  to  impress  upon  Christians  that  their 
duties  were  not  to  be  learned  from  Jewish  rites  and  ceremo- 
nies, but  from  the  law  of  Christ,  says  to  them  :  But  why  dost 
thou  judge  thy  brother  ?  or  why  dost  thou  set  at  nought  thy  bro- 
ther ?  for  we  shall  all  stand  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ. 


CHAPTER  XIX.  1G9 

As  if  he  had  said  the  right  or  the  wrong  in  all  inattors  of  duty 
must  be  decided  with  us  Christians  by  the  law  which  Christ 
has  given  us.  It  is  not  to  one  another,  nor  to  the  law  of  Jew- 
ish ceremonies,  that  we  are  accountable,  but  to  the  law  of 
Christ.  Let  us  not,  therefore,  judge  one  another  any  more. 
The  law  of  Christ,  as  it  is  taught  us  in  his  gosj>eI,  is  the 
standard  of  our  faith  and  duty.  Before  that  we  must  all  lie 
judged,  and  by  its  decisions  our  opinions  and  our  acts 
must  stand  or  fall.  This,  I  believe,  is  what  the  apostle  means 
by  appearing  before  the  judgment  bar  of  Christ.  And,  as  if 
further  to  impress  Christians  with  the  truth,  that  they  are 
constantly  under  the  approval  or  condemnation  of  the  judg- 
ment of  this  bar,  the  apostle  says  :  The  Word  of  God  is  a  dis- 
cerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  hearts  :  neither  is  there 
any  creature  that  is  not  manifest  in  his  sight  ;  hut  all  things  are 
naked  and  opened  to  the  eyes  of  him  with  whom  we  have  to  do. 
This  is  a  judgment  bar,  before  which  the  very  thoughts  and 
intents  of  the  heart  are  constantly  judged,  and  are  either  ap- 
proved or  condemned  according  as  they  are  good  or  evil.  Be- 
fore this  judgment  seat  of  Christ  we  all  do  now  appear,  and 
by  its  righteous  decisions  we  are  acquitted  or  condemned. 
No  doubt  that  in  this  life  the  disciplinary  judgments  of  heaven 
are  employed  in  restraining  and  correcting  Christians  as  well 
as  the  ungodly. 

But  the  9th  chapter,  27th  verse  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  is  regarded  as  being  conclusive  on  this  subject,  and 
places  a  judgment  of  all  men  at  one  time,  in  a  future  state, 
beyond  doubt. 

The  text  reads  :  And  as  it  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to 
die,  (but  after  that  judgment,)  so  Christ  icas  once  offered  to 
bear  the  sins  of  many,"  <^c. 

I  think  the  apostle  is  here  speaking  of  the  judgment  day 
in  no  other  sense  than  that  in  which  I  have  explained  it. 
Let  us  attend  to  his  words,  in  connection  with  the  subject  on 
which  he  is  treating. 

The  subject  of  that  chapter  is  the  redemption  which  Christ 

VOL.  II. — 8 


170  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

accomplished  for  the  human  family,  and  the  likeness  which 
he  assumed  to  man,  in  his  fallen  state.  He  took  upon  him 
the  iniquities  of  us  all  ;  he  took  even  the  nature  of  man,  sin 
only  excepted,  and  became  obedient  unto  death.  In  short 
he  associated  himself  with  man  in  his  mortal  condition,  and 
died  as  man  dies.  It  is  appointed,  or  decreed,  that  man 
shall  once  die,  and  that  the  redemption  may  reach  to  the 
full  extent  of  man's  forfeit,  Christ  also  died  once — he  became 
obedient  to  that  law  which  required  the  life  of  man,  in  order 
to  release  man  from  the  dominion  of  death,  that  the  whole 
man,  as  a  being  of  intellectual,  moral  and  physical  powers, 
might  be  recovered  from  the  fall,  and  be  reinstated  in  his 
original  perfection  and  immortality. 

But  we  do  not  yet  see  this  redemption  in  its  complete 
eifects  ;  for  man  is  still  a  subject  of  death,  although  his 
moral  powers  are  renovated,  and  his  spiritual  nature  is  sanc- 
tified by  grace. 

The  second  branch  of  redemption,  that  is,  the  redemption 
of  the  body,  is  yet  to  come  ;  and  that  explains  the  latter 
clause  of  the  28th  verse  of  the  chapter  ;  And  unto  them  thaf. 
look  for  him  shall  he  appear  the  second  time,  without  sin,  unto 
salvation — full  and  complete  salvation.  He  will  not  appear 
the  second*  time  to  make  any  future  atonement  for  sin,  but 
to  carry  out  and  perfect  the  redemption  made  by  the  offering 
of  himself  once  for  the  sins  of  the  world. 

Speaking  of  the  future  glory  of  the  people  of  God,  in  the 
8th  chapter  of  Romans,  the  apostle  says  :  For  I  reckon  that 
the  sufferings  of  this  present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared 
with  the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed  in  us.  For  we  know  that 
the  whole  creation  groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain  together  until 
now  ;  and,  Twt  only  they,  but  ourselves,  also,  which  have  the  first 
fruits  of  the  Spirit ;  even  we  ourselves  groan  within  ourselves, 
waiting  for  the  adoption,  to  wit :  the  redemption  of  ou,r  body. 
This  will  perfect  in  man  the  salvation  by  the  atonement  of 
Clirist,  who  will,  at  his  second  coming,  change  our  vile  body, 
that  it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body  ;  this  is  the 


CHAPTER  XIX.  1 7  ] 

redemption  of  the  body — tliat  is,  the  ph3^si('iil  nature  of  man 
will  then  be  no  longer  subject  to  death — lie  will  )jc  an  im- 
mortal being. 

The  judgment  day,  or  dispensation,  is  a  subject  not  in 
cidentally  noticed  by  the  sacred  writers,  but  has  as  great 
prominence  given  to  it  by  them  as  the  present  or  gospel  dis- 
pensation has  ;  and  the  apostle  refers  to  it  in  these  words  : 
hut  after  this  the  judgment.  This  sentence  seems  to  l)e  abrupt 
and  without  any  previous  connection  with  the  i)revious  train 
of  reasoning,  unless  we  understand  it  as  referring  to  the  time 
when  the  salvation  of  man  shall  be  completed  in  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  body — then  we  shall  see  its  application.  The 
sentence  is  evidently  introduced  as  a  parenthesis,  as  we  shall 
see  by  reading  the  argument  of  the  apostle  witJiout  it,  from 
the  26th  verse  :  But  now,  once  in  the  end  of  the  icorld  hath  he 
appeared  to  jpwt  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself.  And  as  it 
is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die — so  Christ  was  once  offered  to 
hear  the  sins  of  many  ;  a7id  uiito  them  that  look  for  him  shall 
he  appeayr  the  second  time  without  sin  unto  salvation. 

The  apostle's  argument  is  made  more  distinct  without  the 
sentence  :  hut  after  this  the  judgment.  For  what  j)uri)0se 
then  did  he  introduce  this  sentence  ?  for  the  sole  purpose,  as 
I  suppose,  of  notifying  the  Christian  world,  that  this  redemiv 
tion  of  the  physical  man  from  the  power  of  death,  by  the 
second  coming  of  Christ,  would  not  take  place  immediately 
at  the  end  of  the  gospel  dispensation  ;  for  after  this  disj)eu- 
satiou,  comes  the  judgment  d\si>2n?,iit\o\\.  This  is  to  intervene 
between  the  end  of  the  gospel  day  and  the  second  appearing 
of  Christ.  How  important  that  judgment  day  is  in  the  plans 
of  divine  government,  will  ajjpear  from  our  Lord's  words, 
when  he  tells  us  :  In  that  day,  all  that  offends,  and  them  that 
do  iniquity,  shall  be  taken  out  of  his  kingdom,  all  the  tares  that 
could  not  be  separated  from  the  growing  wheat  in  the  gospel 
day,  will  be  gathered  and  burned.  This  is  the  judgment  which 
will  precede  the  second  ai)pearingof  Christ,  and  it  will  i>rei)are 
the  church  for  this  appearing,  as  the   bride  is  prepared  for 


172  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED, 

tlie  bridegroom.  This,  I  believe  to  be  the  true  meaning  of 
tlie  apostle,  by  the  sentence — hut  after  this  the  judgment,  or 
jiulgment  day. 

Of  the  moral  government  of  God  over  men  in  that  day,  I  think 
the  apostle  is  speaking  in  the  tenth  chap.  Hebrews,  26  and  27 
verses  :  For  if  we  sin  willfully  after  we  have  received  the  know- 
ledge of  the  truth,  there  remaiiieth  no  more  sacrifice,  for  sins,  hut 
a  certain  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment  and  fiery  indignation, 
which  shall  devour  the  adversaries. 

None  can  believe  that  the  apostle  intended  to  apply  these 
words  to  the  gospel  dispensation.  They  are  directly  opposite 
to  what  he  has  said  of  that  dispensation  in  all  of  his  Epistles 
wherein  he  speaks  of  it. 

In  order  to  show  that  the  apostle  treats  of  two  dispensa- 
tions in  the  present  state  of  man's  existence,  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  refer  to  what  he  says  of  the  present  dispensation,  and 
contrast  it  with  the  above  passage. 

In  his  Epistles  to  the  Romans  (v.  chap.)  he  uses  this  lan- 
guage :  And  not  as  it  was  hy  one  that  sinned,  so  is  the  gift. 
For  the  judgment  was  hy  one  to  condemnation,  hut  the  free  gift 
is  of  many  offences  unto  justification.  By  one  act  of  sin  con- 
demnation came  upon  all  ;  but,  under  the  free  gift  of  grace 
and  the  abounding  mercy  of  the  gospel  dispensation,  pardon 
is  extended  to  7}iany  offences.  So  says  our  Lord,  when  incul- 
cating a  spirit  of  forgiveness  upon  his  disciples.  Being  asked 
by  one.  Lord,  how  oft  shall  my  hrother  sin  and  I  forgive  him  ; 
until  seven  times  ?  Our  Lord  replied  :  /  say  unto  you,  not  seven 
times,  hut  seventy  times  seven,  if  he  repent,  thou  shall  forgive 
him. 

This  is  the  mercy  breathed  upon  man  by  the  gospel  dispen- 
sation. It  follows  him  even  after  he  has  turned  away  from 
the  truth,  and  it  entreats  and  beseeches  him  to  turn  again 
and  receive  the  free  gift  of  pardon.  Very  diflferent  from 
this  is  the  dispensation  referred  to  by  the  apostle,  when  he 
says  :  For  if  ive  sin  willfully  after  that  we  have  received  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  there  remaineth  no  more  sacrifice  for  sin. 


CHAPTER  XIX.  173 

One  act  of  trans2^rossion  ends  the  man's  probation  in  that  day, 
and  when  he  falls  from  the  truth,  he  ftilLs  under  the  jud<z:ment 
which  devours  the  adversary.  This  is  the  day  of  judgineni, 
and  in  this  way  it  will  differ  from  the  gosi)el  day. 

But  it  will  be  asked,  if  the  apostle  addressed  these  truths 
to  the  Hebrews  of  his  own  time,  how  can  they  be  understood 
as  referring  to  some  future  state  of  man's  prol)ation  ? 

The  apostles,  as  well  as  the  prophets,  wrote  un<ler  divine 
inspiration,  and  they  frequently  utter  sayings  which  have  no 
application  to  the  times  in  which  they  lived,  although  they 
were  addressed  to  cotemporaries.  If  the  writings  of  the 
apostles  had  reference  only  to  their  own  times,  every  subse- 
quent change  in  the  condition  of  the  political  and  social  rela- 
tions of  men,  and  every  new  development  of  the  purposes  of 
Providence,  would  require  a  new  revelation  to  direct  Chris- 
tians in  their  course  of  duty. 

These  Scriptures,  which  now  point  out  the  way  of  life  to 
men,  will  also  warn  and  instruct  men  on  the  judgment  dis- 
pensation ;  and  this  one  text  from  the  Hebrews  is  one  in- 
stance of  a  great  many  in  which  the  words  of  the  apostle 
must  be  referred  to  another  dispensation.  The  recognition  of 
the  day  of  judgment  as  another  dispensation  over  man  in  the 
present  world,  difiTering  from  the  gospel  dispensation  in  respect 
to  its  laws  and  penalties,  will  make  many  of  the  sayings  of 
our  Lord,  and  his  apostles  and  the  pro}ihets,  plain,  and  easy 
to  be  understood,  which,  without  such  recognition,  must  ever 
remain  obscure  and  unintelligible. 

It  is  obvious  from  the  whole  tenor  of  Scripture  that  two 
different  dispensations  of  divine  government  belong  to  the 
present  state  of  man's  earthly  existence — the  present,  which 
is  the  gospel  dispensation,  in  whicli  grac£  reigns,  and  mercy 
abounds  and  extends  its  pardoning  power  to  many  offences  ; 
and  the  future,  or  the  judgment  dispensation,  in  which  the 
law  of  God  demands  n  perfect  obedience,  on  pain  of  the  judg- 
ment and  fiery  indignation  which  will  be  visited  upon  every 
transgression.     In  the  present  state  the  principle  of  tlie  di- 


lU  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

vine  government  is  adapted  to  the  feebleness  of  man's  moral 
powers,  and  its  requirement  is,  helieve  and  thou  shalt  be  saved; 
but  the  next  state  will  be  no  less  adapted  to  his  stronger 
moral  powers  and  its  requirements  then  will  be,  do  lids,  and 
live. 

Amongst  the  many  references  to  the  future  dispensation 
there  is  a  remarkable  one  by  our  Lord,  in  speaking  of  the 
sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  says,  it  hath  no  forgiveness, 
neither  in  this  world,  neither  in  the  world  to  come.  A  distinct 
reference  is  here  made  to  a  future  dispensation  ;  for  what 
can  be  the  meaning  of  the  word  world,  in  relation  to  this  sub- 
ject, but  a  dispensation  of  divine  law  under  one  modification 
or  another. 

This  declaration  of  our  Lord  furnishes  the  only  instance  in 
which  the  present  dispensation  resembles  that  one  which  is 
to  succeed  it.  This  sin  alone,  in  the  present  dispensation,  hath 
no  forgiveness  ;  but  in  the  next  dispensation,  or  the  judgment 
da}^,  no  willful  transgression  hath  forgiveness  :  there  will  be 
no  sin-offering  for  repeated  transgression. 

Christ  compares  this  day  to  the  night,  in  which  none  can 
work;  and  by  the  prophets  it  is  spoken  of  as  the  day  that  shall 
burn  as  an  oven,  when  the  wicked  shall  be  consumed  as  stub- 
ble ;  and  by  the  apostles  it  is  called  the  day  of  judgment  and 
perdition  of  ungodly  men.  But  it  will,  nevertheless,  be  a  day 
of  probation,  of  moral  trial  ;  and  men  who  are  saved  in  that 
dispensation  will  be  saved  by  the  atonement  of  Christ,  just 
as  they  are  now  saved.  But  the  means  of  grace,  the  spiritual 
helps,  and,  above  all,  the  reclaiming  mercy  which  now  follows 
the  apostate  from  God  and  his  law,  will  not  be  known  in  that 
day.  The  judgment  day  will  be,  in  comparison  with  the  gos- 
pel day,  what  the  night  is  to  the  day.  Men  who  walk  in  the 
night  have  to  use  great  caution  to  avoid  making  a  false  step, 
which  might  involve  them  in  danger  ;  so  in  that  day  which 
if  ('on]i)ared  to  the  night,  one  false  step,  one  act  of  willful 
aposta.sy  from  the  truth,  will  ruin  the  man's  moral  condition 
forever.     The  fiery  trials  and  the  burning  as  an  oven  arc 


CHAPTER  XIX.  175 

figures  of  speech  intended  to  show  the  rigid  conditions  which 
will  then  be  imposed  upon  men  in  working  out  their  salvation; 
for  it  will  then  be  with  fear  and  trembling,  ))ecause  of  the 
consuming  judgments  of  God  which  will  fall  upon  transgress- 
ors. God  will  then  become,  to  all  who  are  out  of  Christ,  a 
consuming  fire.  Is  this  text  applicable  to  the  divine  govern- 
ment in  the  gospel  day,  when  his  Spirit  strives  with  man,  and 
God  waits  to  be  gracious  unto  all  the  sons  of  men,  even  unto 
them  who  are  out  of  Christ,  and  are  far  off  l)y  wicked  works  ? 
The  perdition  of  ungodly  men  is  also  a -descriptive  trait  of 
that  day.  I  understand  this  to  mean  that  this  judgment  day 
will  close  the  scheme  of  redemption — the  whole  probationary 
system  will  end  with  it.  The  perdition  of  ungodly  men,  sig- 
nifies their  final  state,  and  the  future  government  of  God  be- 
yond that  state  will  have  no  ungodly  subjects,  but  will  be  a 
government  over  the  righteous  only.  It  will  be  the  new  hea- 
ven and  the  new  earth,  wherein  dwcllcth  righteousness  alone, 
where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling  and  the  weary  are  at 
rest.  But  this  is  going  ahead  of  the  su))ject.  Something 
more  remains  to  be  said  about  the  judgment  period.  This  is 
the  day  which  Christ  says  will  come  upon  the  world  as  a 
thief  cometh  in  the  night.  And  as  a  snare  shall  it  come  on  all 
them  that  dwell  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth. 

The  world  will  pass  from  the  day  of  gospel  grace  to  the 
judgment  day,  as  the  natural  day  gradually  declines  into 
night,  and  so  imperceptibly  that  men  will  hardly  be  conscious 
of  the  change  until  the  daring  acts  of  wickedness,  and  the  in- 
creased frequency  of  the  divine  judgments  in  punishing  the 
ungodly,  will  make  them  sensible  of  the  change  which  has 
come  over  the  moral  condition  of  the  world.  Then  they  will 
discover  that  the  gospel  door,  which  had  stood  wide  open  to 
men,  calling  and  inviting  by  all  the  means  of  the  gospel  sys- 
tem, is  now  shut.  Then,  in  the  words  of  our  Lord,  thcii  will 
hesrin  to  stand  without,  and  to  knock  at  the  dour,  ^-c.  They  will 
then  anxiously  desire  those  means  which  they  once  rejected 
and  despised.     They  will  long  to  see  one  of  the  days  of  the 


ne  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

Son  of  Man,  but  shall  not  see  it.  Those  means  and  those 
days  do  not  belong  to  the  judgment  state. 

The  reader  will  not  fail  to  observe  the  frequent  repetition 
of  terms,  in  treating  on  this  subject  of  the  judgment.  I  am 
very  sensible  of  it  myself,  but  so  desirous  am  I  to  make  my- 
self distinctly  understood,  and  to  divest  my  views  of  all  am- 
biguity, that  I  would  rather  incur  the  censure  of  tautology, 
than  that  the  plainest  reader  should  not  plainly  comprehend 
my  meaning.  And,  at  the  risk  of  being  tedious,  I  must  ask 
the  reader's  indulgence  and  attention  to  a  few  further  remarks 
upon  the  subject. 

The  novelty  of  this  view  of  the  judgment  day  will  very 
likely  give  rise  to  the -following  inquiry — '"  If  the  gospel  is  a 
"  perfect  system  of  salvation  to  men,  why  should  it  be  changed 
"  for  another  system  having  the  same  end  in  view  ?  Does  God 
"  change  ?  Will  he  lay  aside  his  tender  mercies  and  be- 
"  come  austere  and  vindictive  in  his  government  over  man  ? 
"Why  not  continue  the  gospel  plan  with  all  its  mercy  and 
"  grace  ? " 

The  answer  to  all  this  is  :  when  the  judgment  day  comes, 
man  will  have  arrived,  in  the  progress  of  his  nature,  to  a 
condition  of  moral  power  and  strength,  far  beyond  that  which 
he  was  in  when  the  gospel  system  was  introduced.  And  this 
improvement  of  his  moral  and  intellectual  condition  is  owing 
to  the  influence  of  the  gospel.  Light  has  been  disseminated, 
and  moral  culture  has  brought  out  his  own  intellectual  and 
moral  powers.  His  restless  spirit  and  ever-expanding  in- 
tellect have  produced  in  man  a  feeling  of  independence  of 
all  other  power. 

Both  St.  Paul  and  St.  Peter  give  strongly-colored  pictures 
of  men  under  this  spirit  of  moral  and  intellectual  independ- 
ence, in  the  last  days.  Men  either  become  subjects  of  the 
saving  power  of  God,  or  they  reject  it,  and  become,  as  the 
apostles  described  them  :  Covetous,  boasters,  proud,  blasphem- 
ers, disobedient  to  parents,  unthankful,  unholy,  tvithout  natural 
affection,   truce-breakers,  false  accusers,  incontinent,  fierce,   de- 


CHAPTER  XIX.  I'jY 

spisers  of  those  that  are  good,  lovers  of  pleasure  mnrpJhan  lovers 
of  God.  2  Timothy,  3  chap. 

St.  Peter,  also  speaking  of  man  in  the  last  days,  says  : 
Knoicing  this  first,  that  there  shall  come  in  the  last  days,  safj'rrs, 
walking  after  their  own  lusts,  and  saying  :  Where  is  the  pro- 
mise of  his  coming  1  for  since  the  fathers  fell  asleep,  all  things 
continue  as  they  were  from  the  beginning.  Chap.  3. 

From  these  texts  it  appears  quite  manifest,  that  a  very 
great  change  will  take  place  in  men  in  the  last  days  of  the 
Christian  dispensation  ;  they  will  despise  and  dispute  the 
word  of  God. 

The  whole  moral  structure  of  society  having  undergone 
such  a  change  as  this,  the  necessity  of  a  change  in  the  divine 
government  to  meet  it,  is  too  palpable  either  to  be  questioned 
or  to  be  misunderstood.  The  change  is  not  in  God — but  in 
man  ;  and  God,  in  his  infinite  wisdom,  has  appointed  a  dis- 
pensation adapted  to  the  change  in  human  society,  called  the 
day  of  judgment.  The  law,  and  its  penalties,  in  place  of  the 
gospel  and  its  grace,  will  then  be  the  measure  of  the  divine  gov- 
ernment over  men  ;  and  it  argues  quite  as  much  concern  for 
man's  happiness,  to  place  him  under  the  laic,  when  his  moral 
condition  calls  for  that  form  of  government,  as  it  did  to  place 
him  under  the  gospel  when  his  feebler  state  required  that 
peculiar  dispensation  of  grace.  Under  the  stricter  dispensa- 
tion of  law,  the  tares  which  had  grown  up  in  the  gosju'l  tidd 
will  all  be  gathered  and  burned,  and  all  things  tiiat  otlend 
will  be  taken  out  of  Christ's  kingdom. 

Whatever  may  be  the  severe  and  searching  effects  of  this 
day  upon  the  ungodly,  it  will  be  a  time  of  joy  and  felicity 
with  the  righteous.  The  apostle  teaches,  that  the  state  of 
the  righteous  in  that  judgment  dispensation,  will  be  better 
tlian  it  is  in  the  gospel  dispensation  ;  for  their  distinction 
then  will  be  unto  glory  and  honor;  and  Christianity,  in  the 
life  of  its  subjects,  will  be  purer,  as  that  day  will  sei)arate 
from  it  the  tares— the  false  doctrines,  and  all  mixture  of 
error  in  faith  and  practice,  which  now  abound  to  the  great 

VOL.  II.— 8* 


178  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

injury  of  the  truth,  and  the  disquiet  of  the  meek  and 
godly. 

But  it  will  be  further  asked,  do  not  these  views  of  the  judg- 
day  overthrow  the  scripture  doctrine  on  that  subject,  and 
leave  all  men,  both  the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  without  any 
future  judgment  at  all  ? 

I  answer,  they  may  overthrow  the  prevailing  opinion  of 
men  as  to  what  the  scripture  doctrine  is  respecting  the  judg- 
ment, but  I  humbly  hope  they  do  not  oppose  the  doctrine 
taught  by  our  Lord  and  his  apostles. 

As  to  a  future  judgment  of  mankind  after  death,  in  the 
way  pointed  out  by  the  common  opinion,  it  seems  to  me  that 
enough  has  been  said  already.  I  will  just  add,  however,  one 
argument,  which  may  serve  to  strengthen  what  I  have  before 
said  on  this  point  :  If  God  is  exercising  a  moral  government 
over  man,  which  now  takes  cognizance  of  all  his  acts,  and 
even  the  secret  purposes  of  his  heart,  and  that  under  this 
government  all  men  are  now  either  approved  or  condemned 
before  God,  what  end  of  the  divine  government  is  to  be  at- 
tained by  renewing  the  judgment  upon  man's  conduct  in 
this  life  after  he  has  gone  into  another  state  of  existence  ? 
"  To  justify  the  ways  of  God  to  man,"  some  will  answer,  who 
have  drawn  their  belief  in  a  future  judgment  more  from  the 
sayings  of  poets  than  from  the  Word  of  God,  "  that  the  as- 
sembled world  may  at  one  time  see,  by  one  act,  the  justness 
and  righteousness  of  God  in  consigning  one  portion  of  man- 
kind to  everlasting  woe,  and  exalting  the  other  portion  to 
life  eternal." 

This  is  the  only  ground  upon  which  the  belief  of  a  future  judg- 
ment stands  as  to  the  necessity  for  such  a  procedure  ;  for  no 
one  will  venture  the  assertion  that  the  Almighty  does  not 
know  as  i)ei'fectly  the  merit  and  demerit  of  every  man,  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  as  it  could  be  known  by  the  forms  and  in- 
vestigations of  a  judgment  appointed  for  that  purpose.  If 
the  judgment  is  a  proceeding  to  justify  the  ways  of  God  in  the 
linaV  disposition  which  he  will  make  of  all  men,  then  it  as- 


CHAPTER  XIX.  1>J9 

sumes  the  character  of  a  judgment  to  try  the  proceedingR  of 
the  Ahiiighty  in  his  dealings  with  men.  Is  any  Christian 
willing  to  hold  his  opinion  of  a  future  judgment  under  such  a 
view  of  it  as  this  ?     I  hope  not. 

The  great  fundamental  doctrine  of  the  Bible  is,  that  nmn, 
in  his  fallen  state,  is  under  sentence  of  condemnation  already. 
In  the  sense  in  which  the  day  of  judgment  is  regarded,  being 
that  of  a  grand  assize,  man  is  condemned  already.  He  is 
now  under  sentence  of  judgment,  according  to  what  St.  Paul 
declares,  in  Rom.  v.  chap.  18  verse  :  Therefore  by  the  offence 
of  one,  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation.  This  bcn- 
tence  comprehends  all  men  of  every  grade  and  condition  in 
life.  It  is  not  spoken  of  as  a  condemnation  which  is  to  come 
upon  man  by  a  judgment  after  death,  but  as  his  actual  pre- 
sent state,  from  which,  if  he  fails  to  escape  in  this  life,  there 
is  no  hope  or  means  of  escape  after  death,  as  there  is  no  work, 
nor  device,  nor  knowledge,  nor  wisdom,  in  the  grave,  ichifher  thou 
goest. 

This  life  is  the  only  time  in  which  man  has  op|)ortunity 
to  avail  himself  of  the  means  of  setting  aside  this  judgment 
and  relieving  himself  from  its  condemnation.  These  means 
are  stated  in  the  latter  part  of  the  verse  above  referred  to  : 
Even  so  by  the  righteousness  of  one,  the  free  gift  came  upon  all 
men  unto  justification  of  life.  This  is  the  atonement  made  by 
Christ  for  the  sins  of  the  world.  By  fearing  God  and  work- 
ing righteousness,  the  man  sets  aside  the  judgment,  and  re- 
lieves himself  from  its  condemnation,  as  the  apostle  fully  de- 
clares in  these  words  :  There  is  therefore  now  no  condemnation 
to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus.  Those  who  receive  the  grace 
of  God,  and  by  an  upright  and  holy  life  serve  God,  become 
partakers  of  the  atonement,  and  have  cancelled  the  judgment, 
and  have  passed  from  death  unto  life. 

Now,  as  it  is  in  this  life  that  man  is  under  judgment  of 
condemnation,  and  as  it  is  in  this  life  only  that  he  may  set 
aside  that  judgment,  and  relieve  himself  from  its  condemna- 
tion, how  say  some,  that  the  sentence  of  condenmation  is  to  be 


180  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

passed  upon  men  in  a  day  of  judgment  after  death  ?  If  this 
is  already  done  in  this  life,  does  it  seem  rational  or  consistent 
with  the  divine  wisdom  that  there  should  be  a  day  of  judg- 
ment, such  as  is  commonly  supposed,  after  death  ? 

Can  it  be  objected  to  these  views  of  the  judgment  day  that 
they  are  likely  to  relax  the  diligence  of  men  by  removing  the 
motive  to  a  religious  life,  which  the  apprehension  of  a  future 
judgment  is  supposed  to  inspire  ?  So  far  from  this  being  their 
effect,  it  seems  to  me  that  such  views  are  rather  calculated  to 
increase  the  anxiety  of  men  respecting  their  present  state. 
Instead  of  pointing  them  to  a  judgment  day  beyond  the  pre- 
sent life  as  the  period  when  they  must  give  an  account  for 
all  their  doings  in  the  presence  of  assembled  worlds,  if  they 
were  assured  that  the  judgment  of  God  is  now  upon  them,  and 
that  at  any  hour  this  judgment  may  be  executed  by  the  hand 
of  death,  cutting  them  off  forever  from  the  possibility  of  sal- 
vation, all  the  interests  of  a  man's  future  state  would  crowd 
themselves  upon  him  in  the  jpresent  moment,  and  all  the  ap- 
prehensions that  a  future  judgment  are  calculated  to  awaken 
would  oppress  his  mind  with  an  abiding  present  dread  of  the 
execution  of  a  judgment  which  he  knows  is  now  standing 
against  him  in  the  book  of  the  wrath  of  God  against  all  un- 
righteousness of  men. 

The  long  space  of  time  which  men  place  between  them- 
selves and  the  day  of  judgment,  as  they  consider  it,  is  just 
the  season  which  they  determine  to  employ  in  seeking  their 
own  sinful  pleasures.  It  is  time  enough  yet,  the  day  of 
judgment  is  a  great  way  off  I  and,  because  they  consider  it 
so,  and  that  there  will  be  no  judgment  upon  them  until  that 
day  comes,  their  hearts  are  set  within  them  to  do  evil.  But 
if,  in  place  of  thus  putting  off  the  judgments  of  God  to 
another  world,  and  giving  themselves  no  concern  about  them 
in  the  present  life,  men  were  convinced  that  they  are  now 
actually  under  the  very  sentence  of  condemnation  which  that 
imagined  future  judgment  is  expected  to  denounce  against 
tliem,  and  that  nothing  but  the  brittle  thread,  upon  which 


CHAPTER  XIX.  181 

life  is  Piispcndcd,  and  the  fleeting  breath  in  their  nostrils, 
separates  them  from  the  fearful  consequenees  of  that  judu^- 
ment  ?  Would  they  not  be  actuated  ))y  very  different  mo- 
tives, and  be  led  to  greater  diligence  in  seeking  for  and 
employing  those  means  by  which  they  may  set  aside  the 
judgment  that  is  now  against  them,  and  escape  from  its 
condemnation  ? 

It  is  not  supposed  by  those  who  hold  the  popular  view  of 
the  judgment  day,  that  the  least  variation  is  to  be  made  in 
the  moral  character  of  any  man  that  ever  lived,  by  the  pro- 
ceeding of  that  judgment.  Whatever  the  moral  character  of 
the  man  might  have  been  in  this  life,  that  is  precisely  the 
character  in  which  they  say  he  is  to  stand  before  the  bar  of 
judgment. 

Well,  if  there  is  no  possibility  of  a  change  in  the  moral 
condition  of  men  at  that  tribunal — and  Christ  has  already 
distinctly  announced  what  shall  be  the  future  destiny  of  all 
men  according  to  their  moral  character  in  this  world — the 
question  is  irresistible  :  what  end  will  be  accomplished  by 
the  forms  and  proceedings  of  such  a  judgment  ? 

Having  now  given  my  views,  as  I  honestly  entertain  them, 
respecting  the  day  of  judgment,  I  must  say  that  the  popular 
opinion  of  the  church,  as  it  is  commonly  expressed  on  that 
subject,  is  not  warranted  either  by  scripture  or  reason. 

This  judgment  day,  or  dispensation,  is  the  great  and  nota- 
ble day  of  the  Lord,  so  frequently  spoken  of  by  the  Jewish 
prophets,  and  by  Christ  and  his  apostles.  It  is  the  day  in 
which  the  floor  of  the  Christian  Church  will  be  thoroughly 
purged,  and  the  wheat  will  be  gathered  into  the  granary, 
but  the  chaff  will  be  burnt  up  with  unquenchable  fire. 

In  short,  it  is  the  seventh  trumpet  age ;  when  the  dwellers 
upon  the  earth  will  realize  all  the  fearful  predictions  of  that 
day,  which  are  uttered  in  the  pathetic  strains  of  Jeremiah, 
and  glow  in  the  burning  visions  of  Isaiah,  and  are  reflected 
from  the  lofty  mirror  of  Ezekiel  ;  or  flow  through  the  pro- 


182  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

phetic  strains  of  Judah's  royal  bard.     All  these  will  have 
their  fulfillment  in  that  great  day  of  the  Lord. 

Christ,  in  the  calm  and  holy  dignity  of  his  manner  of  speak- 
ing, warns  the  church  of  the  approach  of  that  day — his  apos- 
tles urge  to  diligence  and  holy  living,  in  view  of  its  terrors ' 
and  judgments — to  its  fearful  and  trying  dispensations,  which 
will  overwhelm  the  ungodly  murmurers,  mockers,  and  scoffers 
of  that  time  ;  while  St.  Peter,  in  order  to  give  an  idea  of 
the  tremendous  effects  of  the  divine  wrath,  as  it  will  be  re- 
vealed from  heaven  in  that  day,  represents  the  heavens  and 
the  earth  as  in  a  state  of  conflagration.  And,  our  beloved 
prophet,  with  whom  w^e  have  sojourned,  beholding  his  won- 
derful visions,  and  listening  to  his  prophetic  voice,  proclaim- 
ing the  events  of  almost  two  thousand  years  ;  now  from  the 
solitude  of  his  banishment  in  Patmos,  lifts  up  the  wine-press, 
trodden  by  the  angel  of  God,  until  the  blood  came  out,  even 
to  the  horse  bridles,  and  cries :  This  is  the  day  of  God 
Almighty^ s  wrath. 

This  is  St.  Peter's  day  of  fiery  trial,  which  will  try  every 
man's  works.  It  is  also  the  day  which  Malachi  speaks  of, 
that  shall  hum  as  an  oven.  It  is  the  day  of  judgment  and 
perdition  of  ungodly  men.  It  will  have  its  place  in  this  world 
as  the  gospel  day  now  has  ;  it  will  have  to  do  with  the  peo- 
ple wlio  will  then  live  in  the  earth,  and  with  no  others. 

The  necessity  for  just  such  a  day  of  fiery  trial — of  the  ex- 
ercise-of  inexorable  law  ;  in  short,  such  a  day  as  the  wine- 
j)rcss  indicates,  is  made  fully  to  appear  from  the  character  of 
the  people  of  that  day. 

Men  have  read  the  Bible  to  very  little  purpose,  if  they 
have  failed  to  discover  that  it  speaks  in  the  strongest  terms 
of  the  bold  daring  and  presumptuous  wickedness  of  the  men  of 
the  last  days,  or  latter  times  of  the  world's  history.  It  is  not 
referring  either  to  those  degraded  vices  which  are  commonly 
the  offspring  of  brutish  ignorance,  but  it  speaks  of  the  wick- 
edness of  that  day  as  something  that  assumes  a  position  of 


CHAPTER  XIX.  183 

defiance  of  God!   and  impiously  contradicts  his  word!     In 
short,  giving  the  lie  to  the  whole  of  divine  revelation. 

The  first  five  verses  of  St.  Paul's  second  E})istle  to  Timo- 
thy, describes  the  last  days  thus  :  This  knoiv,  that  in  the  last 
days  perilous  times  shall  come.  For  men  shall  be  lovers  of  their 
own  selves  ;  covetous,  boasters,  proud,  blasphemers,  disobedient  to 
parents,  unthankful,  unholy,  without  natural  affection,  truce- 
breakers,  false  accusers,  incontinent,  fierce;  despisers  of  those 
that  are  good.  Traitors,  heady,  high-minded — lovers  of  plea- 
sure more  than  lovers  of  God  ;  having  a  form  of  godliness,  but 
denying  the  power  thereof. 

St.  Peter  speaks  of  the  state  of  morals  generally,  in  the 
same  days,  in  the  last  chapter  of  his  Second  Epistle  :  Know- 
ing this  first,  that  there  shall  come  in  the  last  days,  scoffers,  walk- 
ing after  their  own  lusts;  and  saying,  Where  is  the  promise  of 
his  coming  1  for,  since  the  fathers  fell  asleep,  all  things  continue 
as  they  were  from  the  beginning  of  the  creation.  This  is  the 
statement  which  St.  Peter  makes  of  the  scoffing  infidels  of 
the  last  days,  who  will  deny  that  there  had  been,  at  any  time, 
any  such  manifestations  of  divine  wrath  upon  the  earth  as  is 
threatened  in  the  judgment  day.  Willingly,  or  choosing  to 
be,  ignorant  of  the  deluge  by  which  the  world  that  was,  being 
overflowed,  perished. 

Nothing  can  be  conceived  of,  more  depraved  and  desperate 
than  this  exhibition  of  human  society  in  the  last  days.  Civil 
and  religious,  as  well  as  social  ol)ligations,  are  everywhere 
trampled  upon,  and  scarcely  anything  is  seen  but  the  most 
alarming  tumult  and  disorder.  With  mobish'  violence,  the 
barriers  which  have  been  raised  for  the  peace  and  safety  of 
society,  are  torn  down  ;  the  restraints  of  civil  law  are  wan- 
tonly outraged — the  ties  which  bind  society  in  mutual  confi- 
dence and  good-will  are  severed,  and  tram})led  upon  by  vul- 
gar violence.  The  force  of  law  is  destroyed  by  evil  exam- 
ple and  gross  immorality — violence,  tunmlt,  and  murder, 
everywhere  alarm  and  distract  society,  and  threaten  tiic 
overthrow  of  all  order  and  government. 


184  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

In  such  a  state  of  things,  we  shall  look  in  vain  for  any 
reverence  of  God  or  respect  for  his  religion  ;  scorn  and  con- 
tempt for  both  become  general  !  The  Sabbath  and  all  sacred 
institutions  are  scoffed  at  and  shockingly  desecrated,  and 
even  the  youth  vie  with  men  of  riper  years  in  grossly  pro- 
faning the  name  of  God  I 

Such  is  the  picture  which  the  apostles  have  drawn  of  the 
moral  condition  of  the  world  in  the  last  days.  Not  of  the 
hordes  of  barbarous  men  who  never  heard  of  God  nor  Chris- 
tianity ;  nor  of  the  Heathen,  whose  religious  light  is  very 
limited  and  doubtful  ;  but  they  speak  of  men  who  enjoy  the 
blessings  of  the  gospel — whose  cup  of  divine  mercy,  as  the 
Psalmist  says  :  runneth  over,  and  amongst  whom  the  paths  of 
the  Lord  drop  fatness. 

If  these  fearful  instances  of  moral  depravity  were  not 
something  extraordinary — something  beyond  what  had  been 
common  in  the  world — why  should  the  inspired  writers  dwell 
upon  them  with  so  much  emphasis  ?  They  do  present  a  moral 
condition  of  mankind  requiring  a  different  mode  of  treatment 
from  that  which  the  gospel  pursues.  The  day  of  judgment, 
with  its  wine-press  severity,  is  required  to  meet  the  evils  of 
those  last  days.  The  voice  of  mercy,  calling  through  the 
gospel,  will  not  reach  the  men  of  these  last  times  ;  the  voice 
of  God's  judgments  alone  can  make  any  impression  upon 
them.  How  necessary  is  it  then  that  there  should  be  such  a 
dispensation  as  the  day  of  judgment. 

These  outward  signs  of  abounding  iniquity  will  be  accom- 
panied, too,  as  our  Savior  has  informed  us,  with  marks  of  de- 
clension in  the  church  ;  because  this  flood  of  iniquity  over- 
spreads the  earth,  the  love  of  many  will  wax  cold.  To  limit 
this  sign  to  a  comparatively  few  individual  cases  of  the  apos- 
tasy of  men  from  the  religion  which  they  once  possessed, 
would  be  doing  the  text  great  injustice.  I  understand  it  to 
mean,  that  churches,  to  a  considerable  extent,  will  betray  a 
lukewarm  state,  and  in  many  instances  total  apostasy.  The 
earnest  zeal  in  their  membership  and  ministry  will  be  sensibly 


CHAPTER  XIX.  185 

abated,  and  instead  of  the  pungent  and  powerful  appeals 
which  were  once  urged  with  so  much  success  from  the  pulpit, 
little  else  will  then  be  heard  beside  cold  and  chaffy  disserta- 
tions, or  loose  and  desultory  declamation,  designed  more  to 
gain  applause  than  to  save  souls. 

It  will  be  very  apparent  that  the  ministration  of  the  word 
fails  to  produce  upon  the  community  those  so])ering  and  sav- 
ing effects  which  once  attended  its  preaching  ;  so  that  as 
this  night  comes  on,  the  light  and  life  of  the  gospel  day  de- 
cline, even  in  the  ministration  of  the  word. 

The  Church  is  admonished  that  her  faith  and  works  will 
be  put  to  a  severe  test  by  the  fire  which  will  try  every  man's 
works.  In  this  w^ay  the  wheat  will  be  separated  from  the 
chaff,  and  all  things  that  offend  will  be  taken  out  of  Christ's 
kingdom. 

The  manner  in  which  this  day  will  come  upon  the  world  is 
spoken  of  by  our  Lord,  and  refers  to  signs  which  will  give 
indubitable  evidence  of  its  nigh  a})proach.  But  I  need  not 
repeat  those  sayings,  they  are  within  the  reach  of  all  who 
read  the  Bible.  But  there  is  one  passage  in  the  writings  of 
St.  Paul,  however,  that  is  so  appropriate  that  I  will  intro- 
duce it.  In  his  first  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians,  (v.  chap.,) 
the  venerable  apostle  says  :  But  of  these  times  and  seasons, 
brethren,  ye  have  no  need  that  I  icrite  unto  you  ;  for  yourselves 
know  perfectly  that  the  day  of  the  Lord  so  cometh  as  a  thief  in 
the  night.  For  when  they  [that  is,  the  ungodly  world]  shall 
say,  'peace  and  safety,  then  sudden  dest?'uction  cometh  upon  them, 
and  they  shall  not  escape.  But  ye,  brethren,  are  not  in  darkness, 
that  that  day  should  overtake  you  as  a  thief :  ye  are  all  children 
of  light,  and  the  children  of  the  day  ;  we  are  not  of  the  night  nor 
of  darkness. 

Instead  of  the  "  midnight  pomp  and  splendor"  which  poetry 
has  given  to  the  advent  of  this  day  of  the  Lord,  the  apostle 
tells  us  it  will  come  as  a  thief  in  the  night.  The  (luict  and 
stealthy  steps  of  the  thief  are  not  heard  ;  he  creeps  cautiously 


18B  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

and  sileutly  in  his  approaches,  and  we  are  not  aware  of  Ks 
presence  until  we  find  him  in  possession  of  the  house.  So 
will  the  coming  of  the  day  of  the  Lord  be  to  all  who  are  not 
children  of  the  light. 

To  the  watchful  and  humble  Christian  who  looks  carefully 
upon  the  face  of  the  moral  world  and  watches  the  signs  of 
the  times,  the  approach  of  that  day  will  be  discernible. 
Others  may  see  the  same  things  that  he  sees,  but  they  offer 
no  suggestion  to  their  worldly  wisdom  beyond  what  they  call 
the  common  course  of  things — the  ordinary  events  and 
changes  which  belong  to  the  world. 

But  the  Christian  looks  higher,  and  he  discovers,  by  those 
spiritual  perceptions  which  the  Word  of  God  has  taught  him, 
distinct  and  unequivocal  tokens  of  some  great  moral  revolu- 
tion in  the  dispenstion  of  God's  government  in  the  church 
and  the  world. 

This  is  in  conformity  with  what  our  Lord  says  to  the 
righteous  who  will  witness  the  severe  trials  of  the  judgment 
day.  And  take  heed  to  yourselves  lest  at  any  time  your  hearts 
he  overcharged  with  surfeiting,  and  drunkenness,  and  cares  of 
this  life,  and  so  that  day  come  upon  you  unawares.  For  as  a 
snare  shall  it  come  upon  all  them  that  dwell  on  the  face  of  the 
whole  earth.  Watch  ye,  therefore,  and  pray  always,  that  ye  may 
be  accounted  worthy  to  escape  all  these  things  that  shall  come  to 
pass,  [viz.,  the  fiery  judgments  of  that  day,]  and  to  stand  be- 
fore the  Son  of  Man. 

This  refers  to  no  scene  that  was  to  transpire  in  the  land  of 
Judea  by  the  Roman  sword,  but  to  one  that  is  yet  in  the  un- 
seen future,  which,  when  it  comes,  will  bring  with  it  a  fear- 
fulness  and  a  failing  of  the  stoutest  hearts — a  distress  and 
perplexity  of  nations  that  will  resemble  the  sea  and  its  waves 
roaring,  and  will  reach  and  shake  all  nations  that  dwell  upon  the 
face  of  tlie  whole  earth.  But  while  all  else  is  struck  with  dread 
and  trepidation  in  the  presence  of  the  scenes  of  that  day,  the 
people  of  God  will  lift  up  their  heads  and  rejoice  ;  for  the 


CHAPTER  XTX,  lg7 

time  of  their  deliverance  from  all  earthly  sorrows  and  afflic- 
tions has  come,  and  they  stand  before  their  Lord,  in  that  day 
of  burning  trial,  without  fear  and  without  reproach. 

This  seventh  trumpet  is  called  the  trump  of  God,  l)y  way 
of  distinction,  as  the  events  which  will  transpire  in  the  day 
which  it  aimounces,  will  be  manifestly  under  the  appointment 
and  direction  of  God  himself.  The  temple  will  be  filled  with 
smoke,  and  no  man  will  enter  into  the  temple  until  the  seven 
plagues  are  fulfilled. 

No  man,  no  human  power,  will  originate  or  control  the 
judgments  of  that  day  ;  they  will  proceed  from  God,  and  will 
manifest  his  glory  and  power  in  a  manner  that  will  confound 
all  human  wisdom  and  overthrow  all  human  power.  This 
power  and  glory  fill  the  temple,  and  exclude  all  inferior  agen- 
cies. Here  is  the  half-hour's  silence  of  the  seventh  seal — the 
cloud  now  rests  upon  the  Christian  tabernacle,  and  God  is 
heard  speaking  to  his  people,  saying,  Stand  still,  and  know 
that  I  am  God  ;  I  will  he  exalted  in  all  the  earth.  These  judg- 
ments of  the  seven  vials  will  convince  men  that  God  has  taken 
to  himself  his  great  power,  and  will  now  hold  man  to  a  strict 
account  for  his  every  act  and  word. 

Christians  who  now  pray  and  labor  for  the  salvation  of 
their  fellow-men,  will  have  nothing  of  this  kind  to  do  in  this 
great  day  of  the  Lord.  Their  appropriate  emj)loyment  then 
will  be,  as  they  are  represented  in  the  fifteenth  chapter, 
standing  upon  the  sea  of  glass,  with  the  harps  of  God,  sing- 
ing the  song  of  Moses,  the  servant  of  God,  and  the  song  of 
the  Lamb — reviewing  and  celebrating,  in  songs  of  triumph, 
the  great  and  marvellous  works  of  God  in  the  Mosaic  and 
the  Christian  dispensations,  and  concluding  by  saying,  /c^/- «// 
nations  shall  come  and  worship  before  thee,  for  thy  judgments 
are  [now]  made  manifest.  These  judgments  will  do  all  that 
the  gospel  and  the  prayers  of  God's  peoi)le  had  failed  to  do. 

The  wine-press  and  the  sea  of  glass  mingled  with  fire  are 
the  prominent  sulyects  -which  distinguish  the  day  of  judg- 
ment.    The  seven  vials  of  that  day  represent  seven  periods, 


188  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

in  each  of  which  there  will  appear  some  new  form  of  judg- 
ment differing  from  that  which  preceded  it.  The  whole  will 
close  with  the  great  hail,  which  is  represented  as  falling  out 
of  heaven  upon  men — the  last  and  most  universal,  as  well  as 
the  most  appalling,  of  all  the  judgments  of  that  great  day  of 
God  Almighty's  wrath. 

That  this  judgment  dispensation  will  bring  men  generally 
to  submit  themselves  to  God  cannot  be  doubted.  When  thy 
judgments  are  in  the  earth  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  will  learn 
righteousness,  is  a  truth  too  well  understood  in  the  experience 
of  men  to  admit  of  any  doubt.  And  as  this  period  is  called 
the  day  of  judgment,  for  the  very  reason  that  the  judgments 
of  the  Almighty  will  then  be  abroad  in  the  earth,  in  a  man- 
ner not  known  in  any  previous  age  of  the  world  since  the 
flood,  the  cpnclusion  is  unavoidable  that  men  will  then  more 
generally  fear,  and  repent,  and  learn  righteousness. 

But  this  judgment  dispensation  will  come  to  an  end  ;  its 
purposes  will  be  fulfilled  when  the  seven  vials  are  exhausted. 

The  final  result  of  the  judgments  of  this  day  is  presented 
to  us  in  the  vision  which  opens  the  next  chapter.  The  whole 
purpose  of  this  day  will  be  to  exalt  righteousness  by  the 
prompt  and  rigid  punishment  of  iniquity.  The  boldness  of 
the  transgressor  will  quail  before  the  terrors  of  the  Lord,  and 
the  strongholds  of  wickedness  totter  and  fall.  The  wicked- 
ness of  the  wicked  in  this  way  will  come  to  an  end,  and  the 
kingdoms  of  this  world  will  become  the  kingdoms  of  God  and 
of  Clirist. 

Civil  governments  will  then  be  chiefly  directed  to  the  pur- 
j)ose  of  rooting  out  and  destroying  those  vices  which  destroy 
the  happiness  of  men  and  the  peace  of  the  earth.  Most  of 
the  great  evils  which  now  give  rise  to  or  encourage  the  tu- 
mult, disorder,  and  crime,  that  destroy  the  peace  of  society, 
maintain  their  existence  by  clinging  to  the  garments  of  civil 
government.  But  when  these  governments  are  brought  un- 
der a  right  action,  and  give  their  force  to  the  maintenance  of 
virtuous  principles,  there  will  be  no  parleying  with  vice.    The 


CHAPTER  XIX.  189 

moral  pestilence  which  avaricious  and  ungodly  men,  in  pur- 
suit of  gain,  now  inflict  upon  society,  will  not  then  be  left  to 
the  feeble  resistance  of  moral  suasion,  as  they  now  urge  it 
should  be.  This  is  the  plea  of  those  whose  occcupation  mul- 
tiplies and  spreads  the  curse  of  drunkenness,  with  all  its  horrid 
train  of  fearful  and  destructive  evils  upon  the  land.  "  Leave 
"  it,"  they  say,  "  to  the  force  of  moral  suasion  to  correct  the 
habits  of  man,"  while  at  the  same  time  they  seek  and  o))tain 
the  sanction  of  laiv  for  the  support  and  protection  of  their 
traffic,  which  furnishes  the  aliment  of  existence  to  those 
habits.  This  will  not  be  the  case  when  government  directs 
its  laws  to  the  maintenance  of  virtue  and  religion.  The  great 
sources  of  crime  wherever  they  may  lie,  or  however  respect- 
able they  may  now  claim  to  be,  will  then  be  laid  hold  on,  and 
the  great  chain  of  inexorable  law  and  stern  authority  will  be 
put  around  them,  and  they  will  find  their  appropriate  place 
in  the  bottomless  pit. 

This  sunmiary  and  decisive  method  of  dealing  with  the 
great  parent  vices  which  now  defy  or  elude  the  power  of  the 
law,  will  characterise  the  exercise  of  the  civil  power  in  the 
judgment  day  ;  and  we  have  an  illustration  of  the  manner  of 
its  proceeding  in  the  opening  scene  of  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

SATAN    BOUND    AND    CAST    INTO    THE    BOTTOMLESS    PIT. 

1.  And  I  saw  an  angel  come  down  from  heaven,  having  the 
key  of  the  bottomless  pit  and  a  great  chain  in  his  hand. 

2.  And  he  laid  hold  on  the  dragon,  that  old  serpent,  which  is 
the  Devil,  and  Satan,  and  hound  him  a  thousand  years, 

3.  And  cast  him  into  the  bottomless  pit,  and  shut  him  up,  and 
set  a  seM  upon  him,  that  he  should  deceive  the  nations  no  more^ 
till  the  thousand  years  should  be  fulfilled :  and  after  that  he 
must  be  loosed  a  little  season. 

This  vision  represents  the  proceeding  of  the  judgment  day. 
It  shows  the  exercise  of  unrelenting  authority,  enforcing  law 
against  all  workers  of  evil.  Its  operations  will  allow  of  no 
indulgence  to  vice — the  great  chain  is  expressive  of  its  inex- 
orable nature. 

This  angel  is  represented  as  descending  from  heaven,  as 
are  all  those  angels  whose  work  promotes  righteousness.  It 
follows  the  gospel  dispensation,  and  deals  with  men  and  their 
crimes  in  the  most  summary  manner.  It  lays  hold  on  the 
dragon,  that  old  serpent,  &c.  There  will  be  no  parleying 
with  crime  in  that  day  ;  no  mild  moral  suasion — beseechJDg 
men  to  desist  from  their  vicious  practices.  The  workers  of 
iniquity  will  be  laid  hold  on,  and  will  be  dealt  with  promptly 
and  vigorously  by  the  law. 

We  have  seen,  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the  overthrow  of 
the  institutions  opposed  to  the  doctrines  and  spirit  of  Christi- 
anity ;  and  we  have  seen,  to  a  considerable  extent,  the  con- 
version of  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  by  the  power  of  the 


CHAPTER  XX.  191 

gospel,  under  the  similitude  of  bciuf]^  slaiu  l)y  tlie  sword  of 
him  that  sat  upon  the  horse.  ]>ut  still  the  great  multitude 
of  men  upon  the  earth  join  hand-in-hand  in  serving  the  cause 
of  Satan,  although  their  ungodly  systems  have  been  over- 
thrown and  rendered  no  longer  either  influential  or 
respectable. 

Civil  governments  will  then  become,  in  the  strongest  sense 
of  the  term,  Christian  governments.  The  kingdoms  of  this 
world  will  then  become  the  kingdoms  of  God  and  of  Christ. 
In  whatever  form  these  earthly  powers  will  then  exist,  their 
great  aim  will  be  the  suppression  of  crime  and  the  nuiiuten- 
ance  of  virtue.  Their  law^s  will  all  tend  to  that  end,  and  by 
prompt  and  ample  punishments,  they  will  bind  down  the  per- 
petrators of  wickedness — men  will  not  then  roam  at  large 
paying  no  regard  to  the  laws  of  God  or  man.  But  then,  as 
well  as  now,  there  will  be  many  acts  of  transgression  perpe- 
trated so  secretly,  and  in  various  ways,  that  human  law  can- 
not reach  ;  all  such  will  then  be  visited  by  the  direct  visita- 
tion of  God,  in  a  way  not  now  understood  ;  probably  by  the 
vial  poured  out  into  the  air  ;  and  the  hail,  or  judgments,  of 
that  time  will  be  exceeding  great. 

When  the  arm  of  human  authority  is  uplifted  to  strike 
down  the  crimes  of  men,  and  the  invisilile  rod  of  the  Al- 
mighty is  employed  in  punishing  the  secret  transgressor,  men 
will  be  afraid,  and  the  power  and  influence  of  the  devil,  lead- 
ing and  instigating  them  to  acts  of  wickedness,  will  l)e  bound 
with  the  great  chain,  and  this  great  spirit  of  evil  will  be 
cast  into  the  bottomless  -pit  and  shut  up.  The  devil  will  find 
no  agents  in  that  day,  w^hen  the  wrath  of  God  will  be  thus 
revealed  against  all  unrighteousness,  who  will  undertake  to 
support  his  cause  ?  lie  will  then  be  compelled  to  cease  his 
work  of  deceiving  and  destroying  the  nations. 

How  long  this  process  of  binding  the  devil  will  continue 
we  are  not  told,  but  it  will  be  the  peculiar  work  of  the  day 
of  judgment,  and  will  end  in  the  banishment  of  all  -wicked- 
ness from  the  earth.     All  tares  will  be  gathered  up,  and  all 


192  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

tliat  offends  against  the  purity  and  righteousness  of  God's 
law  will  be  taken  out  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  nothing 
will  be  left  to  disturb  the  peace,  or  mar  the  happiness  of 
men,  when  the  dragon,  the  old  serpent,  which  is  the  devil, 
and  satan,  is  bound  with  the  great  chain  and  shut  up  in  the 
bottomless  pit. 

These  different  appellations  given  to  the  great  spirit  of 
evil,  comprehend  the  various  operations  of  his  power  over 
men.  At  one  time  he  throws  whole  nations  into  the  horrors 
of  sanguinary  war  ;  at  another  time  he  shakes  the  kingdoms 
of  earth  by  fearful  rebellion  and  anarchy  ;  and  on  other 
occasions  he  has  shaken  churches  and  broken  the  ties  of 
Christian  brotherhood,  by  discord  and  schisms.  Then  again 
he  directs  the  sword  of  persecution  in  the  hands  of  civil 
power,  to  the  destruction  of  whole  religious  communities. 

Under  another  form,  he  employs  his  subtilty  in  alluring 
and  tempting  men  to  vice  in  a  thousand  different  forms,  by 
which  the  peace  and  harmony  of  societies  and  communities 
are  converted  into  strife  and  hatred.  But  the  vision  repre- 
sents all  this  as  now  brought  to  an  end  by  the  angel  taking 
hold  on  the  grand  instigator  of  them,  and  binding  him  with 
the  great  chain,  and  casting  him  into  the  bottomless  pit,  and 
shutting  him  up. 

This  closes  the  judgment  dispensation  ;  and  this  is  the 
happy  result  which  the  fiery  ordeal  of  that  day  will  bring 
about.  In  short,  this  closes  the  probationary  state  of  man 
on  the  earth.  The  power  of  evil  is  destroyed — peace  and 
order  have  succeeded  to  the  discord  and  strife  which  formerly 
reigned,  and  the  righteous  are  now  for  ever  freed  from  the 
presence  and  influence  of  evil,  and  placed  beyond  the  reach 
of  sin  and  temptation. 

In  the  nervous  language  of  the  text  :  Laying  hold  of  the 
dragon,  that  old  serpent,  binding  him  with  the  great  chain, 
and  shutting  him  up  in  the  bottomless  pit,  so  that  he  can  no 
longer  deceive  the  nations  ;  strikingly  illustrate  the  proceed- 
ing and  final  result  of  the  judgment  day. 


CII AFTER  XX. 


193 


But  tlic  moral  and  intellectual  jjowcrs  of  man  do  not  find 
their  limit  with  the  close  of  this  trying-  dispensation.  Tiie 
ending  of  this  day  opens  the  way  for  a  higher  and  nol)ler 
exercise  of  his  powers,  in  a  state  where  man  will  be  freed 
from  all  that  obstructs  and  defeats  his  higher  progress  in  the 
present  life  ;  the  circle  of  this  life  has  been  tilled  up,  and  a 
higher  and  wider  circle  will  be  thrown  oi)en  for  the  greater 
development  of  his  immortal  powers.  But  more  of  this  in 
its  proper  place. 

So  long  as  man  retained  his  original  rectitude,  the  ten- 
dency of  his  whole  nature  was  to  God.  But,  after  he  fell 
from  that  state  and  became  involved  in  transgression,  his 
moral  gravitation  was  changed,  and  he  fell  off  from  God. 
To  recover  man  from  this  great  apostasy,  has  ever  been  the 
design  of  the  various  dispensations  through  which  he  has 
passed,  and  is  still  passing,  each  succeeding  dispensation 
raising  him  higher,  and  showing  him  more  of  God,  and  of 
himself  too,  than  the  preceding  one  did. 

Leaving  the  patriarchal  times,  which  may  be  called  the 
starlight  age  of  revelation,  we  next  ascend  to  the  Mosaic 
dispensation,  in  which  the  religion  that  taught  men  the  know- 
ledge and  the  worship  of  the  true  God,  first  became  embodied 
in  the  form  of  divine  institutions,  and  God  was  better  known 
in  this  dispensation  than  he  was  in  the  patriarchal  age.  His 
purity  and  holiness  were  represented  by  the  washings  and 
purifications  of  the  ceremonial  services,  and  his  justice  was 
heard  in  the  denunciation  of  his  law,  while  his  glory  and 
majesty  were  seen  in  the  sublime  and  awful  spectacle  of 
the  mount  that  burned  with  fire.  So  terribly  sublime  was 
that  representation  of  the  august  presence  of  God,  that 
Moses,  while  he  looked  upon  it,  said — I  exceedingly  fear  and 
quake. 

Passing  from  this  dispensation  of  mingled  terror  and  hope, 
we  next  behold  God  made  manifest  in  the  flesh.  Christ,  re- 
flecting the  glory  and  attributes  of  the  Father,  and  pouring 
upon  the  world,  in  the  grace  and  mercy  of  his  mission,  the 

VOL.  II. — 9 


194  'J'LIK  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

Christian  day — a  day  in  which  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of 
the  glory  of  God  revealed  itself  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ. 

This,  we  are  told,  is  the  last  dispensation  of  a  probationary 
character,  and  it  will  close  with  the  judgment  day,  as  already 
described.  It  will  leave  man  in  the  highest  state  to  which 
moral  and  intellectual  nature  can  be  carried  in  his  present 
life.  But  the  developments  of  his  moral  and  intellectual 
powers  do  not  stop  or  end  with  the  close  of  this  dispensation; 
he  will  only  then  begin  to  lire.  Taking  leave  of  all  that  is 
connected  with  sorrow,  affliction,  and  death,  changing  his 
mortality  for  a  state  of  immortality,  and  his,.present  vile  body 
for  a  body  like  unto  Christ's  glorious  body,  he  will  take  his 
place  in  the  new  world,  where  his  redeemed  and  regenerated 
nature  will  ever  rise  and  expand,  unclogged  by  the  mortality 
that  now  depresses  him,  and  untempted  and  unassailed  by 
evils  that  now  ensnare  and  embitter  his  sorrowful  life. 

This  is  the  state  to  which  Christ  refers  in  those  words  he 
will  address  to  his  faithful  servants  :  Cojne,  ye  blessed  of  my 
Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  jprejpared  for  you  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world. 

This  is  the  glorious  climax  of  existence  to  which  the  right- 
eous are  pressing,  and  where  they  will  be  forever  distinguished 
amongst  the  higher  orders  of  God's  intelligent  creation. 

This  future  state  of  man's  glorious  being  is  the  subject  of 
the  next  symbolical  representation  in  this  chapter. 

But  before  we  proceed  further  in  the  subject,  I  must  meet 
some  objections,  growing  out  of  the  common  belief  that  the 
world  is  to  be  destroyed  by  fire,  either  before  or  at  the  judg- 
ment day.  The  texts  of  Scripture  chiefly  relied  upon  to  sup- 
port this  opinion  are  the  following  :  Ilenven  and  earth  shall 
jpass  away,  but  my  word  shall  not  pass  away.  And  to  you  who 
are  troubled  rest  with  us  when  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  shall  be 
revealed  from  heaven,  with  his  mighty  angels,  in  Jiaming  fire 
taking  vengeance  on  them  that  knotv  not  God,  and  thai  obey  not 
the  gospel  of  our  Lord  .Tesus  Christ.  *  *  *  When  he  shall 
come  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  to  be  admired  in  all  them 


CIIAPTKR  XX. 


1  <»ri 


that  hdierc  in  that  day.  (2  Tliess.)  St.  Peter  uses  ljiii,i,niii,i,M' 
still  stronger  in  his  Second  Ei)lstle.  lie  says  :  The  heavens 
and  the  earth  lohich  are  noir,  by  the  same  word,  are  kept  in  store, 
reserved  unto  fire  against  the  day  of  judgment  and  perdition 
of  ungodly  men. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  words  of  Christ  inii)lying  tliat  the 
world  is  to  be  destroyed  by  fire.  All  that  can  be  inferred 
from  his  words  is,  that  the  visible  creation  is  subject  to  mu- 
tation, and  shall  pass  away,  or  be  so  changed  in  its  constitu- 
tion and  properties  as  to  become  a  new  heavens  and  new 
earth  ;  but  his  word  is  not  subject  to  these  mutations,  and 
shall  not  pass  away. 

The  only  instance  in  which  he  speaks  of  fire  in  connection 
with  the  day  of  judgment,  is  when  the  tares  are  gathered  and 
bound  in  bundles  to  be  burned.  But,  from  what  has  l)eeii 
already  said  of  the  tares,  we  know  that  they  are  meta})hori- 
cally  spoken  of,  and,  beyond  a  doubt,  the  fire  which  is  to 
burn  them  can  be  regarded  only  in  the  same  light.  Christ 
said  on  another  occasion,  /  came  to  send  fire  on  the  earth, 
clearly  using  the  term  fire  in  a  figurative  sense. 

St.  Paul,  when  he  speaks  of  Christ  coming  in  flaming  fire, 
has  no  reference  to  material  fire,  but  to  the  judgments  which 
will  then  banish  the  ungodly  from  the  presence  of  God,  and 
the  glory  of  his  power.  He  makes  fre({uent  use  of  the  term 
fire  in  connection  with  the  trials,  or  tests,  to  which  the  works 
of  all  men  will  be  subjected  in  that  day  ;  and  he  says  in  iiis 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  :  our  God  is  a  consuming  fire.  The 
tongue  is  afire,  as  St.  James  expresses  it,  meaning  of  course 
nothing  more  than  to  express  the  mischievous  effects  of  the 
improper  use  of  that  member.  These  texts,  as  well  as  a  great 
many  others  that  might  ))e  adduced,  serve  to  show  that  the 
scriptural  use  of  the  term  fire,  does  not  always  imply  material 
fire. 

But  the  language  of  St.  Peter  is  so  strong  and  direct,  that 
we  can  hardly  suppose  he  could  have  intended  anything  else, 
than  that  the  great  change  which  all  scripture  concurs  iu 


196  THE  ArOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

saying  will  pass  upon  this  world,  would  be  attended  with  fire 
in  some  form  or  other.  But  even  his  strong  language  does 
not  justify  the  belief  that  an  entire  destruction  of  this  earth 
by  fire  is  intended.  St.  Peter's  language  is  highly  figurative 
as  was  the  custom  with  the  Jewish  writers  ;  and  we  shall  do 
neither  him  nor  his  subject  any  injustice  by  restricting  his 
terms  to  a  meaning  which  will  be  consistent  with  other  scrip- 
ture upon  this  point. 

That  this  earth  is  destined  to  undergo  a  wonderful  change, 
no  believer  in  divine  revelation  will  question.  The  heavens 
and  the  earth  that  now  are,  will  by  this  change  become  con- 
verted into  the  new  heavens  and  the  new  earth  ;  not  to  be 
destroyed,  ])ut  will  be  physically  regenerated.  All  the  evils 
that  came  upon  the  world  by  man's  transgression,  will  be 
removed.  St.  Peter  calls  it  the  restitution  of  all  things  ; 
Christ  calls  it  the  regeneration  ;  and  how  appropriate  this 
term  is,  will  appear,  when  we  consider  that  all  the  elements 
which  gave  this  world  its  primeval  glory  and  perfection  are 
still  in  it,  but  in  a  state  so  discordant  and  chaotic  that  they 
cannot  be  developed.  The  regeneration,  or  restitution  of  all 
things  will  purify  and  harmonise  those  elements. 

The  physical  regeneration  of  the  earth  is  referred  to  by 
Christ,  in  Matt.  xix.  :  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  ye  which 
have  followed  me,  in  the  regeneration,  when  the  Son  of  Man 
shall  sit  in  the  throne  of  his  glory  ;  ye  also  shall  sit  ujpon  twelve 
thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  This  regeneration 
will  take  place  when  Christ  shall  sit  on  the  throne  of  his 
glory  ;  and  agrees  with  the  restitution  spoken  of  by  St. 
Peter,  in  his  sermon  in  Jerusalem,  (Acts,  iii.  chap.:  21  verse) 
Whom  the  heaven  must  receive  until  the  times  of  the  restitution 
of  all  things,  which  God  hath  spoken  of  by  the  mouth  of  all  his 
holy  prophets  since  the  world  began. 

The  subject  of  this  regeneration  of  the  physical  world  is 
interwoven  with  all  the  writings  of  the  prophets,  and  is  the 
theme  of  some  of  the  sublimest  odes  of  David. 

The  question  is  not  whether  such  a  change  is  to  take 


CHAPTER  XX.  197 

place,  but  whetlicr  this  earth  is  to  be  destroyed  l)y  fire,  ac- 
cordin-^  to  the  general  belief  of  men.  Tlie  destruction  of  the 
world  by  the  flood  is  not  produced  by  St.  Peter  as  a  parallel 
case  ;  but  he  points  to  that  event  to  refute  the  argument  of 
scoffers,  who  will  arise  and  contradict  the  wordof  God,snying: 
Where  is  the  evidence,  or  what  circumstances  shar  that  the  pro- 
mise or  prediction  of  ChrisVs  coming  again  vi/l  ever  be  verifcd, 
seeing  that  all  things  remain  as  they  were  from  the  beginning  of 
the  creation  1  St.  Peter  says  they  are  willingly  ignorant  of  the 
fact  that  the  world  had  once  been  overflowed  by  water  and 
perished.  He  adduces  the  overflowing  and  i)erishing  of  the 
v\'orld  by  the  flood  as  a  refutation  of  their  argument :  that 
all  things  remain  as  they  icere  from  the  beginning  ;  on  which 
hypothesis  they  build  their  infidelity,  and  aver  that  no  such 
change  in  the  world  as  prophecy  declares,  will  ever  occur. 

But  the  language  of  St.  Peter  is  :  T'he  heavens  and  the 
earth  which  are  now,  by  the  same  word,  arc  kept  in  store,  re- 
served to  fire,  against  the  day  of  judgment  and  perdition  of 
ungodly  men. 

From  this  saying  has  arisen  the  opinion,  that  God  holds 
the  present  world  in  a  state  of  preservation,  until  the  time 
fixed  in  his  own  purpose  shall  arrive,  when  he  will  utterly 
destroy  it  by  fire  1  just  as  a  condemned  criminal  is  held  in 
chains  until  the  period  when  he  is  to  die,  when  he  is  brought 
out  and  publicly  executed. 

I  draw  a  very  diff'erent  conclusion  from  these  words  of  St. 
Peter,  whose  style  is  frequently  marked  by  that  bold  and 
ardent  language  so  characteristic  of  himself.  lie  was  ad- 
dressing an  argument  to  the  scoffers  referred  to,  in  support 
of  the  superintending  providence  of  God  over  this  world  ; 
as  if  he  had  said  :  27u5  world  is  not  left  to  move  at  random, 
through  space,  and  may  or  may  not  fall  into  ruin  again  as 
when  it  perished  by  the  food  ;  but  it  is  reserved,  sacrerlly  guarded 
and  protected,  by  the  same  word,  or  power,  which  in  the  begin- 
ning created  it,  until  the  appointed  time,  when  it  shall  be  restored 
to  its  original  perfection  and  beauty. 


198  TTTE  APOCALYPSE  UXVKTLED. 

These  scoffers  might  answer  the  apostle,  and  urge,  that  if 
the  waters  which  filled  the  interior  portion  vf  the  earth  were 
all  brought  npon  the  surface,  to  produce  the  flood,  the  gases 
which  would  be  generated  within,  producing  raging  fires  in 
the  bowels  of  the  earth,  would  have  consumed  it  long  ago. 
The  apostle  meets  this  argument  by  saying,  that  the  i:)Ower 
which  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  is  employed  in 
keeping  it  from  perishing  by  internal  fires.  And  he  also 
controls  the  electrical  fires  of  the  heavens,  so  that  they  are 
not  permitted  to  destroy  those  laws  necessary  to  the  pre- 
servation of  both  the  heavens  and  the  earth. 

The  various  phenomena  of  fire  so  frequently  seen  in  and 
around  the  earth,  may  well  suggest  the  idea  that  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  are  in  danger  of  a  fiery  dissolution.  The  blaz- 
ing lightnings,  which  threaten  to  consume  the  whole  heavens, 
and  the  devouring  volcano  through  which  the  earth  disgorges 
its  fiery  plethora,  are  so  many  signs  of  the  presence  of  accu- 
mulated fires,  for  which  the  word  or  power  that  has  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  in  reservation  has  provided  means  of 
escape  ;  otherwise  the  heavens  and  the  earth  might,  indeed, 
fall  a  prey  to  devouring  fires. 

To  keep  up  the  great  chain  of  cause  and  effect,  we  must 
bear  in  mind  that  it  was  the  introduction  of  sin  which  pro- 
duced the  flood,  and  the  flood  has  so  changed  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  as  to  expose  them  to  destruction  by  fire  ;  and 
it  is  the  constant  exercise  of  the  divine  power  only  which 
prevents  such  a  catastro})he. 

Now,  the  question  is,  for  what  purpose  are  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  reserved  ?  That  they  may  be  burnt  up,  wholly 
destroyed  l)y  fire,  in  the  day  of  judgment  and  perdition  of 
ungodly  men  ?  A  literal  interpretation  of  St.  Peter's  lan- 
guage would  justify  such  a  conclusion.  But  is  this  his  mean- 
ing ?  Does  he  not  tell  us,  himself,  of  the  restitution  of  all 
things  ?  lie  does  not  speak  of  a  new  creation,  but  of  a  res- 
titution— that  is,  recovering  ;  bringing  back  to  what  it  was 
before,    something  that   had  been  taken  away — had  gone 


CHAPTER  XX.  199 

nstrn}'  from  its  orig-iiial  purpose*  and  nj)})roprialecl  tiso.  St. 
Peter  speaks  of  the  heavens  and  tlie  eartli  in  conneetion  with 
such  a  restitution,  and  for  tliat  S})eeial  design  they  are  hq>f  in. 
store — preserved  from  destruction  hy  fire — until  tiie  apjiointed 
time  of  their  regeneration,  or  tlie  restitution  of  all  thin;rs, 
which  is  the  day  or  period  of  the  judgment  and  perdition  of 
ungodly  men. 

St.  Peter  gives  us  a  very  short  description  of  the  grandeur 
of  that  scene  while  the  heavens  and  the  earth  are  passing 
through  the  change,  which  will  leave  them  a  suitable  abode 
for  the  righteous.  In  the  tenth  verse  of  the  third  cha})ter  of 
his  Second  Epistle,  he  says  :  But  the  day  of  the  Lord  icill 
come  as  a  thief  in  the  night  ;  in  the  which  the  heavens  shall  pass 
away  with  a  great  noise,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent 
heat;  the  earth  also,  and  the  works  that  are  therein,  shall  he 
burned  up.  And  in  the  twelfth  verse  he  continues  the  repre- 
sentation in  these  w^ords  :  Looking  for  and  hasting  unto  the 
coming  of  the  day  of  God,  icherein  the  heavens,  being  on  fire, 
shall  be  dissolved,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat. 

This  will  be  the  passing  away  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth 
from  their  present  state  to  the  new  heavens  and  new  earth. 
All  the  elements  which  constitute  their  present  organization 
will  be  changed.  The  heavens,  or  the  surrounding  atmos- 
phere, as  the  term  here  means,  will  probably  undergo  rapid 
alterations,  and  produce  astounding  explosions,  while  the 
various  elements  are  apparently  contending  for  the  dominion 
of  the  skies. 

The  exhibitions  of  electrical  fires  in  the  thunder-storms 
which  are  witnessed  in  our  summer  mouths,  although  some- 
times sufficiently  appalling  to  make  the  stoutest  heart  quake, 
are  but  a  trifle  in  comparison  to  i\\Q  great  noise  with  which 
the  heavens  shall  pass  away. 

While  this  change  is  going  on  in  the  heavens,  like  changes 
will  be  seen  in  the  earth.  Those  fiery  outbreaks  which  now 
pour  their  lava  from  the  mountain  crater,  will  not  then  be 
sufficient  to  relieve  the  earth  from  the  effects  of  internal  fires 


200  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

urging  their  way  to  the  surface.  Where  one  volcano  is  now 
seen,  many  hundreds  will  probably  tlien  burst  from  the  bowels 
of  the  groaning  earth,  and,  minglhig  with  the  fires  that  will 
seem  to  fill  the  heavens,  and  adding  the  thunders  of  a  thou- 
sand craters  to  the  deafening  explosions  of  the  burning 
heavens,  will  fully  realize  the  great  noise  St.  Peter  speaks  of, 
and  will  justify  the  bold  and  figurative  language  he  employs 
when  he  says  :  The  heavens,  being  on  fire,  shall  he  dissolved, 
*  "^  "^  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat,  the  earth  also, 
and  the  works  that  are  therein,  shall  he  burned  up. 

All  this  is  to  be  accomplished  on  this  earth  and  in  the  sur- 
rounding heavens.  How  will  it  be  done  ? — and  why  has  it 
not  occurred  long  ago  ?  some  will  ask,  since  it  appears 
that  the  heavens  and  the  earth  contain  within  themselves,  in 
their  present  organization,  the  elements  of  this  convulsion  ? 

How  it  will  be  done,  by  what  change  those  elements  will 
be  thrown  into  such  fiery  disorder,  we  are  not  told.  But  we 
are  told  most  explicitly  why  this  event  has  not  occurred  be- 
fore now.  St.  Peter  tells  us  that  the  heavens  and  the  earth 
that  are  now,  are  by  the  word,  or  power  of  God,  reserved,  or 
preserved — kept  in  store — in  their  present  state,  until  the 
judgment  day,  when  they  will  be  regenerated,  purified,  and 
restored  to  the  origiiuil  heavens  and  earth.  This  is  plain 
enough,  surely.  The  heavens,  and  the  earth  on  which  we 
live,  and  in  which  we  breathe,  are  full  of  the  elements  of  de- 
struction ;  but  these  are  restrained,  kept  back,  and  hindered 
from  devastating  the  earth,  by  the  power  of  God,  in  whom 
we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our  being,  also. 

The  use  that  St.  Peter  makes  of  these  awfully  sublime 
scenes,  is  to  urge  the  church  to  be  prepared  for  them,  by 
leading  a  life  of  holy  conversation  and  godliness.  Looking 
for,  he  adds,  and  hasting  unto  the  coming  of  the  day  of  God, 
or  judgment  day,  in  which  those  scenes  are  to  transpire. 

Notwithstanding  the  terror  with  which  they  must  strike 
the  world  of  mankind  generally,  the  apostle  speaks  to  Chris- 
tians rather  exultingly,  and  tells  them  not  only  to  look  for — 


CHAPTER  XX.  201 

that  is,  desire  them — but  he  adds  tliat  they  slionhl  be  haslivg 
unto  tlie  coming-  of  this  day  of  God,  Hke  men  who  arc 
anxiously  pressing  on  and  impatiently  urging  tlicir  way  to 
meet  some  approaching  event  intimately  connected  with  their 
future  happiness.  This  was  St.  Peter's  religion,  and  no  one 
will  object  to  it  in  view  of  these  things  which  he  had  just 
described  ;  and  such  is  the  religion  that  every  man  may  pos- 
sess if  he  has  the  same  faith  and  earnestness  tliat  St.  Peter 
bad. 

The  opinion  that  the  destruction  of  tlie  i)resent  earth  and 
heavens  by  fire  is  to  be  an  entire  destruction,  leaving  nothing 
of  their  present  substance,  involves  the  destruction  also  of  all 
beings,  all  creatures  in  the  animal  as  well  as  the  vegetable 
kingdom.  All  existences,  rational  and  irrational,  that  are 
connected  with  the  present  earth  and  heavens,  must  be  ne- 
cessarily involved  in  this  universal  destruction. 

But  does  this  comport  with  the  sayings  of  our  Savior, 
wherein  he  points  his  followers  to  the  happiness  they  will  be 
called  to  in  the  kingdom  prepared  for  them  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world  ? — when  he  shall  appear  in  his  glory,  and 
all  the  holy  angels  with  him,  and  shall  sit  upon  the  throne  of 
his  glory,  then  shall  his  people  who  have  followed  him  sit  also 
upon  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  And  I  ap- 
jpoint  unto  you  a  kingdom,  as  my  Father  hath  appointed  unto 
me,  that  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  my  table,  in  my  kingdom,  and 
sit  on  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel — (Luke,  xxii.) 
Nobody  will  insist  that  such  language  as  this  is  applicable  to 
the  present  state  of  man,  nor  yet  can  it  be  understood  at  all 
without  regarding  it  as  referring  to  an  earthly  existence  some- 
how analogous  to  the  present — that  is,  a  material  earth  and 
heavens. 

The  prophet,  in  the  revelation,  explains  it  so  by  the  song 
which  he  heard  sung  by  the  great  multitude  of  the  redeemed, 
exulting  in  the  glorious  results  of  the  atonement  by  Christ. 
For  thou  wert  slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood, 
out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation,  and 

VOL    II. — 9* 


202  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

hast  made  us  unto  our  God  kings  and  priests,  and  we  shall  reign 
on  the  earth — (Rev.  v.  chap.) 

Tills  is  conclusive  as  to  the  theater  of  man's  future  glory 
and  happiness — it  is  this  earth  ;  not,  it  is  true,  just  as  it  is 
now,  but  in  its  renovated,  restored  state,  freed  from  all  the 
physical  evils  brought  upon  it  by  sin.  It  will  be  the  new 
heavens  and  the  new  earth  by  comparison.  The  whole  consti- 
tution of  the  present  earth  and  heavens  will  be  converted,  so 
that  all  the  elements  which  compose  them  will  unite  and 
blend  in  harmony,  and  all  tend  to  the  perpetuity  and  happi- 
ness of  man.  This  was  the  state  of  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  when  they  were  first  created  and  pronounced  by  their 
Creator  very  good — so  good  that  God  met  with  and  conversed 
with  man,  the  new  sovereign  of  this  lower  creation,  in  his 
paradisiacal  dominion,  and  angels  joined  the  holy  fellowship  iu 
Eden.  When  the  heavens  and  the  earth  are  restored  to  this 
state,  when  man  himself  is  changed,  and  his  present  vile  body 
is  fashioned  like  unto  the  glorious  body  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  when  he  walks  forth  in  purity  and  in  fellowship  with 
Christ  and  angels,  conscious  of  immortality,  and  that  grief, 
nor  pain,  nor  death,  can  ever  again  reach  his  glorified  state, 
will  not  that  be  heaven  ?  It  will  be  immortality  and  eternal 
life,  at  least. 

Having  said  so  much  of  the  restoration  of  the  heavens  and 
the  earth  to  their  original  state  of  purity  and  grandeur ;  it 
will  not,  I  hope,  be  out  of  place  to  indulge  in  some  general 
reflections  upon  the  moral,  the  intellectual,  and  physical  cha- 
racter of  the  great  progenitors  of  man,  who  had  their  origin, 
and  spent  their  long  lives,  of  many  hundred  years,  in  the 
first  earth  and  heaven. 

Man,  in  the  morning  of  his  being,  and  in  the  familiar  con- 
verse he  enjoyed  with  his  Maker,  must  have  been  fully  ap- 
prised of  the  high  dignity  of  his  nature  ;  that  his  moral 
nature  was  cast  in  the  very  mould  of  the  Deity  himself,  and 
that  in  his  intellectual  powers  he  stood  next  to  the  angels  of 
God.     He  must  have  been  familiar  with  the  purpose  and  end 


CHAPTER  XX.  203 

for  wliieli  lie  was  created,  and  with  tlie  wliole  economy  of 
God  in  creating  and  governing  this  visiljle  universe.  His 
vast  and  comprehensive  intelligence,  at  once  emliraced  the 
knowledge  of  all  that  was  present,  and  ojjened  to  liis  view 
the  higher  glory  and  profounder  knowledge  to  which  his  con- 
stantly progressive  nature  destined  him,  if  he  maintained  his 
rectitude  and  obedience  to  the  government  which  God  liad 
appointed  for  him. 

Nothing  that  could  strengthen  his  fidelity  and  fortify  his 
virtue,  was  withheld  from  his  knowledge.  The  kingdom  of 
God,  which  our  Savior  says  was  prepared  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world,  that  is,  this  higher  and  more  glorious  state, 
was  appointed  for  man  after  his  paradisiacal  probation  should 
end.  This  kingdom  was  presented  to  Adam,  uot  so  much  as 
a  reward  for  his  obedience  in  the  station  he  then  occupied, 
as  a  revelation  of  the  future  glory  to  which  his  nature  was 
destined.  To  this  kingdom  his  aspirations  were  directed, 
while  a  consciousness  of  the  high  dignity  of  his  nature  was 
relied  upon  to  keep  him  in  a  course  of  due  obedience  to  the 
government  of  his  Creator.  True,  he  was  admonished,  that 
a  default  of  obedience  to  the  divine  government,  would  in- 
volve a  forfeiture  of  this  great  and  glorious  destiny.  The 
principal  design  of  this  admonition,  was,  probably,  to  warn 
liim  of  the  existence  of  the  Devil,  and  put  him  on  his  guard 
against  those  seductive  and  dangerous  stratagems  which  that 
enemy  would  employ  to  effect  his  overthrow.  Alas  !  the 
Devil  proved  successful,  and  man  fell!  Then  began  the  great 
struggle  which  has  ever  since  been  maintained  between 
heaven  and  hell,  for  and  against  the  recovery  and  restoration 
of  man  to  his  original  state  of  holiness  and  hapj^'ness. 

This  struggle  will  end  in  the  full  triunii)h  of  Christianity, 
and  the  restoration  of  all  things  in  the  natural  world  to 
their  primeval  perfection,  and  man  himself  to  even  a  higher 
state  of  glory  than  that  from  which  he  fell. 

Man's  whole  moral  constitution  was  perverted  and  cor- 
rupted by  transgression  ;  and,  as  I  have  ])efore  remarked,  his 


204  THE  APOCALYFSE  UNVEILED. 

moral  gravitation  became  changed,  and  he  fell  ofif  from  God. 
His  posterity  could  be  no  otherwise  than  like  himself,  morally 
corrupt. 

The  very  brief  account  given  in  the  Bible  of  this  great 
apostasy,  does  not  inform  us  that  either  the  intellectual  or 
physical  powers  of  man  were  seriously  impaired  by  the  fall. 
And,  as  his  posterity  inherited  from  Adam  his  corrupt  moral 
qualities,  so  his  great  intellectual,  as  well  as  his  physical 
powers,  must  have  descended  in  like  manner. 

Adam's  knowledge  of  all  things  connected  with  the  crea- 
tion, at  the  head  of  which  he  stood,  and  of  which  he  was,  in 
a  subordinate  sense  the  governor,  must  have  been  of  an  order 
far  above  anything  known  to  any  other  man  since  the  flood. 
It  was  in  respect  to  his  intelligence  that  he  stood  next  to  the 
angels,  being  only  a  little  lower  than  they.  This  opinion  of 
his  vast  intelligence  is  not  a  mere  conjecture.  The  history 
given  of  the  early  development  of  his  mental  powers  corro- 
borates it.  (Gen.  ii.  chap.  :  19,  20  verses)  :  And  out  of  the 
ground  the  Lord  God  formed  every  least  of  the  field  and  every 
fowl  of  the  air,  and  hr ought  them  unto  Adam  to  see  lohat  he 
would  call  them ;  and  whatever  Adam  called  every  living  crea- 
ture, that  was  the  name  thereof.  And  Adam  gave  names  to  all 
cattle,  and  to  the  fowls  of  the  air  and  to  every  beast  of  the  field. 

It  would  not  be  a  just  apprehension  of  the  design  of  this 
part  of  revelation  to  suppose  that  it  was  merely  intended  to 
show  that  Adam  called  the  different  beasts  of  the  field  and 
the  fowl  of  the  air  by  some  name,  only  to  distinguish  one 
from  another.  It  should  be  regarded  as  a  matter  of  much 
higher  consequence. 

Probably  this  was  the  first  great  subject  which  God  pre- 
sented to  Adam  for  the  exercise  of  his  intelligence,  to  see,  the 
text  says,  what  he  would  call  them — that  is,  that  he  might, 
by  the  exercise  of  his  reasoning  powers,  discover  the  peculiar 
properties  of  the  different  beasts  and  fowls,  and  give  to  each 
that  name  which  would  best  express  those  properties. 

This  trial  of  Adam's  intellectual  powers  was  not  made  be- 


CHAPTER  XX.  205 

cause  God  did  not  know  what  he  was  capable  of.  He  knew 
what  was  in  man  ;  })ut  it  was  made  in  ordor  tliut  tlie  man 
mij2,'lit  himself  know  the  wonderful  i)Owers  which  he  possessed. 
This  he  could  never  have  known  but  by  the  exercise  of  those 
powers  ;  and  without  a  consciousness  of  his  high  intellectual 
nature,  he  never  could  have  enjoyed  that  felicity  for  whieh  he 
was  created.  Man  that  is  in  honor  and  under standdh  [or 
knoweth]  it  not,  is  like  the  beasts  that  perish. 

This  is  true  of  men  in  all  ages  of  the  world  ;  their  intellec- 
tual powers  are  not  known  to  themselves  or  to  others  until, 
as  the  common  phrase  is,  circumstances  call  them  out. 

This  trial  of  Adam's  mental  powers  must  have  impressed 
him  with  more  exalted  views  of  the  intellectual  greatness  of 
his  nature  than  he  would  ever  have  entertained  without  it. 
And  so  long  as  his  moral  nature  maintained  its  integrity,  his 
intellectual  powers  acted  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  high 
purposes  of  his  creation,  and  man  was  necessarily  a  happy 
being.  But  the  great  moral  principle  of  his  nature  was  sub- 
verted by  the  transgression,  and  his  no1)le  intellectual  powers 
became  not  destroyed  nor  impaired,  but  perverted,  lie  ob- 
liqued from  the  original  rectitude  of  his  nature,  and  all  his 
vast  powers,  moral,  intellectual,  and  physical,  went  off  iu 
wild  disorder. 

Such  was  Adam  when  he  begat  children  in  his  own  image 
and  likeness. 

His  immediate  descendants  must  have  received  the  nature 
of  their  parent,  and  the  whole  antediluvian  race  are  spoken 
of  as  giants — as  men  of  renown — (Gen.  vi.  4.) 

These  terms,  as  used  by  us,  have  no  meaning  which  even 
approaches  to  what  they  imply  in  respect  to  the  Antedihivians. 

Their  vast  intelligence  may  be  imperfectly  imagined  from 
the  wonderful  attainments  which  have  l)een  made  by  some 
men  within  the  short  space  of  man's  present  life,  oppressed  as 
it  is  with  sorrow,  sickness,  and  haunted  by  the  constant  ap- 
prehension of  death.     The  Antediluvians  knew  no  such  ob- 


206  THE  ArOCALYPSE  UXVEILED. 

staclcs  to  the  expansion  of  tlieir  intellectual  powers  ;  they 
knew  nothing  of  sickness  ;  disease  never  fastened  upon  their 
bodies,  and  wasted,  by  pain  and  agony,  both  their  mental,  and 
physical  energies,  and  death  they  probably  never  thought  of. 
Seven,  eight,  nine  hundred  years  of  vigorous,  unimpaired 
health,  must  have  shut  out  from  their  thoughts  all  calcula- 
tions about  dying. 

Can  any  adequate  conception  be  formed  by  the  loftiest  intel- 
lect of  the  present  world,  of  the  vast  accumulation  of  knowledge, 
the  prodigious  sweep  of  intellectual  effort,  made  by  the  gi- 
gantic minds  of  those  men  of  renown,  whose  studies  and  pur- 
suits in  all  the  channels  of  knowledge  went  on,  rising  higher 
and  spreading  wider  for  seven,  eight,  or  even  nine  hundred 
years  ?  Who  can  fathom  the  depth  or  imagine  the  height 
to  which  their  wondrous  knowledge  extended  ?  Everything 
in  nature  must  have  contributed  to  the  enjoyments  of  those 
people.  The  gratification  of  their  senses  was  probably  upon 
a  scale  no  less  various  and  grand  than  their  intellectual  de- 
lights. 

The  fondness  for  the  beautiful  and  the  sublime  which 
clings  to  man  in  his  present  poor,  brief  existence,  is  a  relic 
derived  from  antediluvian  ancestry.  And  we  may  shadow  in 
our  fancy,  from  the  pleasure  which  this  feeling  now  imparts, 
wliat  must  have  been  the  provision  made  for  the  gratification 
of  a  similar  desire  in  them. 

How  prolific  and  various  must  have  been  the  productions 
of  the  earth  in  rich  and  delicious  fruits,  springing  sponta- 
neously from  its  bosom,  and  how  enchanting  to  the  eye  must 
have  been  the  infinite  variety  of  verdure  and  flowers,  spread- 
ing their  ever-blooming  glories  before  man,  and  filling  the 
air  with  indescribable  sweetness,  while  above  and  around 
him  was  spread  an  atmosi)here,  so  equable,  so  balmy,  and  so 
heaven-like,  that  angels  enjoyed  its  delights  in  companion- 
ship with  man  before  he  fell.  If  only  these,  the  greatness  of 
man  in  his  physical  and  intellectual  powers,  and  the  beauty 


CHAPTER  XX.  207 

and  grandeur  of  nature,  had  been  lost  by  the  fall,  would  it 
not  have  been  a  deplorable  loss  indeed  ? 

Some  great  men  of  the  present  day  have  greatly  miscon- 
ceived the  character  of  the  antediluvian  life,  and  have  said 
that — "  they  did  not  envy  them  their  great  longevity — they 
"  had  no  desire  to  live  to  the  Methusalan  age,  dragging  out  a 
"  protracted  existence  of  consumption,  rheumatism  and  gout, 
*'  and  all  the  fearful  host  of  disorders  which  now  prey  ujion 
"  and  waste  away  human  life." 

But  it  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  the  antediluvians  knew  any- 
thing about  disease,  chronic  or  acute.  Their  very  longevity 
shows  they  were  not  subjects  of  disease.  There  was  nothing 
in  the  climate — nothing  in  tlie  productions  of  the  earth,  cal- 
culated to  produce  disease.  Accident  or  violence,  or  the 
sudden  breaking  down  of  the  human  organization  from  long 
use,  must  have  been  the  only  cause  of  death  amongst  the 
antediluvians. 

We  can  come  to  no  other  conclusion,  if  we  consider  that 
man  was  made  to  ])e  immortal — not  designed  to  be  the  sub- 
ject of  death  ;  and  the  earth,  upon  which  man  was  to  live, 
and  the  heavens  which  was  to  surround  him,  must  have  been 
made  in  conformity  with  this  purpose  of  his  Creator.  If  any 
element  of  disease,  dangerous  to  the  life  or  health  of  man, 
had  been  allowed  in  the  creation  of  his  dwelling  place,  it 
would  have  involved  a  contradiction  between  the  purpose 
and  the  works  of  the  Creator. 

If  man  had  continued  in  his  innocency,  no  violence  could 
have  arisen  to  destroy  him  ;  nor  is  it  probable  that  any  acci- 
dent would  ever  have  occurred  to  his  injury  ;  and  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  natural  waste  of  his  bodily  powers  was  guarded 
against  by  what  the  Bible  calls  the  tree  of  life  ;  wiiicli,  nnin 
being  removed  from  after  the  transgression,  so  that  he  couKl 
not  reach  forth  his  hand  and  take  it  and  live  fur  ever  ;  he  was 
left  without  the  recuperative  effects  of  this  provision  fur  his 
immortality,  and  he  died  by  the  wearing  out  of  his  bodily 
powers,  after  sustaining  their  action  for  many  hunch-ed  years. 


208  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

The  duration  of  man's  life  was  not  sensibly  diminished  until 
after  the  flood,  showing,  that  disease,  in  its  various  forms, 
only  then  began  to  prey  upon  the  human  constitution. 

Noah  was  six  hundred  years  old  in  the  time  of  the  flood, 
and  he  survived  that  universal  desolation  three  hundred  and 
fifty  years.  But  his  sons,  and  their  children,  showed  the 
deadly  efi'ects  of  the  new  state  of  the  earth  and  atmosphere 
which  followed  the  flood.  Shem  lived  five  hundred  years 
after  the  flood,  cotemporaneously  with  his  father  Noah,  three 
hundred  and  fifty  years  of  that  time,  from  whom  he  and  others 
of  his  day  must  have  received  a  very  particular  account  of 
the  antediluvian  world.  The  posterity  of  Shem,  for  three 
generations,  reached  less  than  half  the  age  of  Noah,  and  the 
three  generations  succeeding  these,  experienced  a  similar 
abreviation  in  their  ages,  reaching  not  much  over  two  hun- 
dred years  ;  and  in  the  next  three  generations  the  life  of 
man  settled  down  to  the  appointed  limit  of  three-score  years 
and  ten  ;  with  many  exceptions,  however,  for  the  old  antedi- 
luvian constitution  held  on  to  some  of  Noah's  descendants 
with  much  greater  tenacity  than  it  did  to  others.  But  the 
average  length  of  postdiluvian  life  with  man  is  three-score 
years  and  ten,  against  ten  and  twelve  times  that  many  years 
as  the  extent  of  his  antediluvian  age. 

Upon  what  ground  is  this  mighty  abbreviation  of  man's 
life  to  be  accounted  for,  if  not  upon  the  ground  of  a  radical 
change  in  the  atmosphere  in  which  he  lives,  and  in  the  pro- 
perties of  the  food  which  the  earth  now  yields  him  ?  And, 
as  no  such  abbreviation  was  known  until  after  the  flood,  the 
conclusion  is  unavoidable  that  the  flood  let  loose  upon  the 
world  a  great  amount  of  natural  and  social  evils,  growing 
out  of  the  curse,  which  was  not  experienced  by  men  before 
that  event. 

There  is  another  fact  which  appears  in  the  examination  oi 
this  difference  in  tlie  period  of  men's  lives,  before  and  since 
the  flood,  quite  important  to  be  noticed.  It  is  this  :  Noah, 
the  connecting  link  between  the  old  and  the  new  world, 


CHAPTER  XX.  209 

lived  almost  sixty  years  in  Abraham's  time  ;  that  is,  A  lira- 
ham  was  sixty  years  old  when  Noah  died,  and  Shem,  tho 
glory  of  Noah's  family,  who  also  lived  a  hundred  years  the 
other  side  of  the  flood,  was  cotemporary  with  Ahrahani,  and 
aetually  survived  him  some  thirty  or  forty  years!  Now, 
when  the  old  and  the  new  world  are  connected  in  the  })er- 
sons  of  such  men  as  Noah,  Shem,  and  Abraham,  we  have 
no  cause  to  question  the  certainty  of  the  accounts  we  have 
of  the  antediluvian  world,  and  of  the  flood  which  destroyed 
it. 

I  have  said  already,  that  the  regeneration  spoken  of  by 
our  Savior,  and  the  restitution  of  all  things  referred  to  by 
St.  Peter,  point  to  the  recovery  of  the  world  to  its  jtrimeval 
glory  ;  and  man  will  be  the  happy  dweller  in  that  world 
again  ;  not  as  he  was  before,  in  a  state  of  probation,  but  in 
the  possession  of  immortality  and  eternal  life  ;  again  the 
companion  of  angels  ;  nay,  more  than  that,  something  that 
Adam  never  enjoyed — the  presence  of  Christ,  in  his  glorious 
kingdom,  by  whom  this  great  redemption  was  achieved.  All 
the  glories  of  the  first  heaven  will  be  restored,  with  the  ad- 
dition of  a  purity  and  holiness  in  the  whole  nature  of  man, 
from  which  he  can  never  fall. 

The  flood  was  the  effect  of  the  curse  for  man's  transgres- 
sion ;  the  change  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  even  though 
it  be  by  fire,  will  ])e  the  effect  of  the  redemption  by  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  will  accomplish  all  that  is  promised  in 
relation  to  the  new  heavens  and  new  earth. 

But  before  we  look  into  this  kingdom,  let  us  employ  some 
reflections  upon  the  immediate  causes  which  produced  the 
flood. 

THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  WORLD  BY  THE  DELUGE. 

This  event  is  given  to  us  historically,  and  may  with  piv- 
priety  occupy,  in  its  investigation,  the  rational  powers  of 
man. 


210  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

No  one  can  contemplate  that  event  and  its  awful  conse- 
quences without  feeling  a  desire  to  look  into  the  causes  which 
ojjerated  in  producing  it. 

The  sin  or  transgression  of  man,  and  the  curse  of  God 
which  followed  it,  were  undoubtedly  the  primary  causes  of 
the  flood. 

To  suppose  that  the  Almighty,  after  pronouncing  the 
works  of  the  six  days'  creation  perfect  and  good,  would  de- 
stroy the  earth  without  some  cause  which,  to  his  infinite  wis- 
dom, was  constraining,  would  be  to  impute  to  the  Creator  a 
fickleness  discreditable  even  to  man. 

The  transgression  of  man  brought  the  curse  of  God  upon 
the  earth  as  well  as  upon  the  violator  of  the  divine  law.  The 
whole  material  universe,  it  is  probable,  felt  the  shock  of  the 
Almighty's  displeasure,  and  the  changes  which  were  ulti- 
mately to  produce  the  disruption  of  the  earth  then  began  to 
operate. 

All  the  physical  effects  of  the  curse  were  to  be  brought 
about  by  the  operation  of  physical  causes — the  first  impulse 
or  tendency  that  way  being  given  by  God  himself,  whose 
mysterious  power  could  as  easily  change  as  it  could  establish 
the  laws  of  the  universe. 

We  are  distinctly  informed  in  the  history  of  the  transac- 
tions in  paradise  which  took  place  upon  the  fall  of  man,  what 
change  was  made  in  the  economy  God  had  appointed  for  the 
perj^etuity  of  man's  life.  Having  incurred  the  sentence  of 
the  law,  which  denounced  death  as  the  penalty  of  transgres- 
sion, any  further  access  to  the  tree  of  lite  was  denied  him, 
and  his  immortality  then  ceased.  But  death  did  not  put  an 
end  to  Adam's  days  for  many  hundred  years  after  the  act 
which  doomed  him  to  die.  But  the  change  in  the  laws  of  the 
universe,  which  was  to  result  in  the  flood,  is  not  made  known 
to  us.  Such  a  change  was  made,  we  must  suppose,  or  there 
could  have  been  no  flood,  since  God  did  not  create  the  heav- 
ens and  the  earth  merely  to  destroy  them.  Gen.  vii.  6,  7  : 
And  it  repented  the  Lord  that  he  had  made  man  on  the  ear  Hi, 


CTTAPTKn  XX.  211 

and  if  gricrcfl  him.  al  hn^  heart.  And  Ihe  Lord  said,  T  icill  dr- 
stroy  man,  ichom  I  hare  created,  from  the  face  of  the  earth  :  both 
man  and  beast,  and  the  creeping  thing,  and  the  fowls  of  the  air  ; 
for  it  repcnteth  me  that  I  have  made  them. 

The  means  of  effecting  this  dcstraction  of  his  works  were 
the  waters  of  the  flood. 

The  long  period  of  nearly  two  tliousand  years  which  tran- 
spired from  the  creation  until  the  Hood,  does  not  opera  U-  at 
all  against  these  views. 

Events  which  are  of  God's  appointment,  involving  changes 
in  the  nature  or  the  relation  of  the  laws  which  he  has  estab- 
lished, are  not  often  precipitated.  The  progress  of  his  provi- 
dential designs  are  for  the  most  part  slow,  but  their  results 
are,  nevertheless,  as  certain  as  if  they  were  instantaneous. 
Hence,  St.  Peter  says  :  One  day  is,  ivith  the  Lord,  as  a  thousand 
years.  Xor  is  this  delay,  in  the  execution  of  his  word,  .s7c/r/.- 
ness,  as  some  men  count  slackness. 

The  whole  history  of  the  antediluvian  world  is  compressed 
in  a  very  brief  space,  giving  simple  facts  only  which  seem  to 
be  intended  for  future  amplification  by  observing  natural 
causes  and  effects  in  the  phenomena  of  the  postdeluvian 
world.  One  of  those  facts  relating  to  the  natural  philosophy 
of  the  old  world,  states  that  the  Lord  God  had  not  caused  it 
to  rain  upon  the  earth  ;  but  there  went  up  a  mist  from  the  earth 
and  watered  the  whole  face  of  the  ground. — (Gen.  ii.  5,  6.) 

That  this  was  not  a  mere  local  circumstance,  applicable 
only  to  the  spot  where  man  first  had  his  being,  is  obvious 
from  the  fourth  verse  of  the  chapter,  which  introduces  the  gene- 
rations of  the  heavens  and  the  earth  when  they  were  created. 
This  sentence  comprehends  the  earth  and  the  surrounding 
atmosphere  after  their  creation,  and  acting  under  those  laws 
which  the  Creator  had  imi)ressed  ui)on  them. 

If  then  there  was  no  rain,  but  as  a  sul)stitute  for  it,  the 
exhalations  that  constantly  arose  througli  the  day,  and  de- 
scended in  sufficient  quantities  through  the  night  to  water 
the  ground,  it  follows  as  an  unavoidable  inference,  that  the 


212  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

earth  could  not  have  held  the  same  position  in  relation  to 
the  sun,  l)efore  tlie  flood,  as  it  now  holds. 

The  position  of  the  earth  must  then  have  been  such  as  to 
produce  a  summer-like  temperature  over  its  whole  surface, 
from  the  equator  to  the  poles.  Instead  of  the  present 
oblique  position  of  the  earth,  varying  its  poles  23 1  degrees 
from  the  horizon,  its  poles  must  then  have  been  level  with 
the  horizon,  and  the  day  and  night  always  equal. 

In  this  position  of  the  earth,  the  sun,  by  its  uniform 
action  upon  its  surface,  must  have  raised  an  inconceivable 
amount  of  vapor  ;  an  aeriform  sea  must  have  surrounded 
the  globe  on  all  sides.  As  the  earth,  in  its  diurnal  revolu- 
tions, gradually  withdrew  its  surface  from  the  sun,  giving  it 
to  the  cooling  shades  of  evening  ;  the  dews  then  descended, 
first  gentle,  but  as  night  came  on  their  quantity  was  gre-atly 
increased,  until  they  became  the  mist  that  watered  the 
ground,  Sol  sped  his  fiery  chariot  through  the  day,  disse- 
minating heat,  then  evening  came,  and  from  the  fountains  of 
the  air,  pouring  copious  dew,  watered  the  thirsty  earth. 

There  could  have  been  no  such  alternation  of  seasons  at 
that  time  as  those  that  make  up  our  year.  Summer  and 
winter  did  not  then  divide  the  year.  These  opposite  seasons 
are  not  mentioned  in  the  Bible  until  after  the  flood,  for  the 
reason,  I  presume,  that  no  such  changes  in  the  seasons  were 
known  l)efore  the  flood. 

The  flood  must  have  been  the  consequence  of  a  change  in 
the  position  of  the  earth.  But  how  this  change  was  brought 
al)Out  we  have  no  certain  information.  We  know,  however, 
that  even  since  the  flood,  the  poles  of  the  earth  have  varied 
237  degrees  from  a  level  with  the  horizon — that  we  have  had 
winter  and  summer,  with  all  the  variations  and  fluctuations 
that  now  make  the  climate  of  the  greater  portion  of  our 
earth  harassing  and  dangerous  to  human  health  ;  often 
blighting  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  and  casting  down  the  hopes 
of  the  husbandman. 

This  uncertainty  of  climate  does  not  prevail  in  the  tropical 


CHAPTER  XX.  213 

latitudes  it  is  true  ;  but  tlicro  too,  the  efTeets  of  tlie  ^^eiicnil 
derangement  of  the  physical  world  are  seen  and  felt  in  a  still 
more  fearful  form.  There  the  wild  tornado  swe('i)s  over  the 
earth  and  marks  its  track  with  wide-spread  ruin  and  devas- 
tation, and  whole  cities  are  sometimes  suddenly  engulfed  by 
the  terrific  earthquake. 

There  is  no  part  of  the  earth  where  some  sign  of  the  curse 
docs  not  appear,  and  there  is  no  part  of  it  which  now  bears 
the  impress  of  its  antediluvian  paradise. 

A  sudden  change  of  the  earth's  poles,  from  a  horizontal 
to  their  present  oblique  position,  was  adequate  to  the  pro- 
duction of  the  flood.  Such  a  change  must  have  produced  at 
once,  over  half  the  earth,  the  temperatnre  known  to  us  as 
winter  ;  and  the  effect  would  be  to  convert,  suddenly,  the 
whole  aeriform  sea,  hanging  over  that  part  of  the  earth, 
into  water,  and  precipitate  it  upon  the  earth.  At  the  same 
time,  and  by  the  same  change  in  the  earth's  position,  its  in- 
ternal waters  probably  were  forced  out  of  their  cavernous 
depths,  and  bursting  forth,  they  mingled  with  the  mighty 
floods  descending  from  the  upper  regions  and  drowned  the 
earth. 

The  account  the  Bible  gives  of  the  deluge  is  particular  in 
stating  the  two  sources  whence  the  waters  came  ;  it  says — 
The  windows  of  heaven  were  opened,  and  the  fountains  of  the 
great  deep  were  broken  up.  The  waters  came  from  above  the 
earth  and  out  of  the  earth.  Whereby  the  world  that  then  was, 
being  overflowed  with  water,  perished. 

This  was  the  flood  ;  and  this  was  the  culminating  point  of 
the  curse  upon  the  natural  world  for  the  sin  of  man.  Here 
was  the  grand  outbreak  of  the  divine  wrath  which,  almost 
two  thousand  years  before,  had  cursed  the  eartli  lor  the 
transgression  of  Adam. 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  antediluvians  lai)orcd  under 
any  particular  mark  of  the  divine  displeasure,  except  that 
they  died,  after  a  life  of  many  hundred  years.  But  their 
life  abounded  so  with  all  the  enjoyments  peculiar  to  their 


214  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

state,  that  tbey  probably  entertained  no  idea  that  they  were 
under  the  malediction  of  Heaven,  nor  did  they  apprehend 
any  such  event  as  the  flood. 

Their  wickedness  is  spoken  of  as  not  only  presumptuous, 
but  extremely  aggravating.  Noah  could  tell  the  generations 
this  side  of  the  flood,  all  about  the  conduct  and  character  of 
the  people  amongst  whom  he  had  spent  nearly  six  hundred 
years  of  his  life.  They,  no  doubt,  jeered  him — scoffed  at  and 
ridiculed  him,  and  treated  his  preparation  of  the  ark  with 
infidel  scorn,  while  he  preached  to  them  and  warned  them 
of  impending  ruin. 

Speaking  of  these  people,  our  Savior  refers  to  their  being 
absorbed  in  pleasures,  and  wholly  sensual  in  their  delights. 
He  says  :  For  as  in  the  days  that  were  hcfore  thejlood,  they 
were  eating  and  drinking,  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage, 
until  the  day  that  Noah  entered  into  the  ark,  and  hieio  not  un- 
til the  Jiood  came  and  took  them  all  away.  They  believed 
nothing  about  the  flood,  and  treated  the  warnings  of  Noah 
with  the  same  sort  of  contempt  that  most  men  of  this  world 
now  treat  the  warnings  of  God's  Word.  But  the  flood  did 
come,  and  took  them  all  away — a  very  short  but  awfully  com- 
prehensive announcement  of  the  end  of  the  antediluvian  race. 

And  just  so  it  will  be  at  the  end  of  the  present  earth  and 
heavens.  Upon  the  authority  of  our  Savior,  in  connection 
with  the  above  texts,  he  says  ;  So  shall  also  the  coming  of 
the  Son  of  Man  be. 

When  we  consider  that  it  was  the  act  of  man  that  brought 
the  flood  upon  the  old  world,  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  his 
importance  and  consequence  in  the  universe  of  God.  But 
still  higher  will  our  conceptions  of  his  dignity  and  worth 
be  raised,  when  we  consider  the  sublime  scene  of  the  atone- 
ment, when  the  Divinity  of  Heaven  took  upon  it  the  mortality 
of  man,  and  gave  assurance  of  man's  restoration  to  the  favor 
of  his  Creator,  and  the  enjoyment  of  that  immortality  and  eter- 
nal life  in  the  kingdom  of  God  for  which  he  was  originally 
created. 


CHAPTER  XX.  215 

111  support  of  the  opinion  th:it  rain  did  not  I'all  in  the  antc- 
diluxiau  world,  1  will  present  an  argument  drawn  IVoni  the 
covenant  wliieli  God  made  with  Xoali  after  the  Hood. 

In  ahnost  every  instance  where  God  entered  into  covenant 
with  man,  he  provided  sometliing  as  a  token  wliich  shouUl 
sustam  the  faith  of  the  man  with  whom  he  covenanted  in  tlie 
trials  of  after  life,  that  whenever  he  looked  upon  the  token, 
or  reverted  to  it  in  his  mind,  he  would  l)e  reassured  of  the 
faithfulness  of  God  in  the  performance  of  his  i)romise.  These 
covenant  tokens  were  sometimes  supernatural,  and  at  other 
times  they  were  the  effects  of  natural  laws  ;  but,  because 
those  natural  laws  had  never  operated  before  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, their  effects,  when  they  did  occur,  had  all  the 
force  of  a  supernatural  occurrence,  the  novelty  of  their  ap- 
pearance being  regarded  as  miraculous,  until  their  frequency 
made  men  familiar  with  them. 

I  will  refer  to  some  of  these  covenant  tokens  as  the  best 
mode  of  illustrating  my  meaning. 

In  the  covenant  made  with  Abraham,  recorded  in  the 
fifteenth  chapter  of  Genesis,  there  God  made  promises  to  his 
servant  which,  in  the  eye  of  human  reason,  were  impossible 
of  fulfillment.  Whereby  shall  I  know  that  I  shall  inherit  it  ? 
God  had  not  only  told  him  that  his  seed  should  be  as  the 
stars  of  heaven  for  multitude,  but  likewise  that  his  j)Osterity 
should  inherit  the  land  or  the  countries  which  then  spread 
out  before  him,  stretching  away  from  the  rivers  to  the  sea, 
variegated  wuth  lofty  mountains  and  fertile  valleys,  and  filled 
with  powerful  and  warlike  nations.  To  assure  Aljraham  of 
the  fulfillment  of  this  promise,  God  a])pointed  a  very  remark- 
aljle  token.  Take  me  an  heifer  of  three  years  old,  and  a  she 
goat  of  three  years  old,  and  a  ram  of  three  years  old,  ami  a  tur- 
tle-dove, and  a,  young  'pigeon.  AH  these  animals,  the  })igeon 
and  dove  excepted,  were  divided  into  two  e(pial  i)arts,  and 
laid,  each  piece  opposite  to  its  fellow,  with  a  space  between. 
In  the  darkness  of  the  night,  God  caused  a  smoking  furnace 
and  a  burning  lamp  to  pass  through  the  space  between  the 


216  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

pieces  of  the  slain  beasts.  This  was  the  token,  the  particular 
thing  that  was  to  keep  up  a  vigorous  remembrance  of  this 
covenant  in  the  mind  of  Abraham  and  his  posterity.  The 
token  itself  was  supernatural,  and  was  not  designed  to  be 
repeated. 

The  whole  scene  of  this  wonderful  transaction  is  full  of  in- 
struction. The  smoking  furnace  represented  the  affliction 
which  Abraham's  posterity  were  to  suffer  while  in  bondage 
in  a  strange  land.  The  sacrifice  and  use  made  of  the  beasts 
implied  that  the  religion  of  his  descendants  would  be  typical, 
expressed  by  animal  sacrifice,  and  the  burning  lamp  showed 
the  blessing  that  all  nations  were  to  experience  through  the 
seed  of  Abraham.  The  lamp  was  a  beautiful  prefiguration 
of  the  gospel  which  was  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and  give  the 
knowledge  of  the  true  God  to  all  people. 

The  early  history  of  Moses  affords  some  examples  of  re- 
markable tokens  given  to  strengthen  his  faith  in  the  promise 
of  God. 

Moses  was  deputed  by  the  Almighty  to  negotiate  for  the 
release  of  the  Israelites  from  their  bondage  in  Egypt.  He 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  difficulty  and  danger  that  must 
attend  such  an  embassy,  and  he  earnestly  desired  to  decline 
the  appointment. 

But,  he  was  made  fully  sensible  of  the  greatness  of  the 
power  that  would  go  with  him,  by  the  tokens  which  were 
exhibited  for  his  encouragement. 

Moses  had  presented  to  him — first,  the  bush,  enveloped  in 
fire,  and  yet  was  not  at  all  consumed  ;  then  the  staff  that 
was  in  his  hand,  when  he  threw  it  upon  the  ground,  became  a 
hideous  serpent,  so  terrible  that  he  fled  from  the  face  of  it. 
Bat  when,  in  obedience  to  the  command  of  God,  he  returned 
and  took  hold  of  its  tail,  suddenly  it  became  the  staff  again. 
Tlien  his  hand  was  smitten  with  leprosy,  but  when  he  thrust 
it  into  his  bosom  and  withdrew  it  thence  again,  it  was  as 
healthy  and  perfect  as  his  other  hand.     These  tokens  decided 


CHAPTER  XX.  217 

his  purpose,  and  lie  went  Imldly  into  tiie  presence  of  Pluiruoli 
and  demanded  the  liberation  of  the  Ilehrcws. 

Gideon's  faitli  and  fortitude  were  likewise  established  in 
time  of  great  fear  and  danger,  by  the  presentation  of  sensi- 
ble objects,  which  could  be  no  otherwise  accounted  for  but 
by  the  miraculous  exercise  of  divine  power.  An  irruiition 
was  made  into  the  country  of  the  Israelites,  by  the  Midian- 
ites  and  the  Amalekites,  and  other  nations,  threatening  the 
destruction  of  the  land  and  captivity  of  the  ])eo[)le.  God 
moved  Gideon  to  prepare  an  army  to  meet  the  multitude 
that  had  invaded  the  land,  and  promised  to  give  him  victory. 
But  Gideon  did  not  feel  quite  satisfied  with  the  j)romise  of 
success  ;  he  desired  a  token — something  that  was  visible,  to 
confirm  his  faith.  The  manner  of  this  sensil)le  token  was 
proposed  by  Gideon  himself.  A  fleece  of  w^ool  was  placed  iu 
the  open  air,  and  the  token  of  his  success  was  to  consist  in 
its  being  saturated  with  dew  while  the  ground  remained  dry. 
And  it  was  even  so.  In  the  morning,  he  wrung  from  the 
fleece  of  w^ool  a  bowl  full  of  w'ater  while  the  ground  remained 
entirely  dry.  In  order  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure,  Gideon 
solicited  that  he  might  once  more  be  favored  with  a  sensible 
evidence  that  he  was  under  the  guidance  and  protection  of 
God  ;  and  he  proposed  that,  on  the  next  night,  the  fleece 
might  remain  dry,  and  the  ground  should  be  w^et  with  dew, 
just  reversing  the  manifestation  of  miraculous  interposition. 
It  was  granted,  and  the  result  was  according  to  his  own 
proposition  ;  the  ground  all  around  was  wet  with  dew,  but 
the  fleece  was  perfectly  dry. 

Gideon  now  w^as  satisfied  as  to  the  result,  and  he  was 
ready,  and  actually  did,  with  no  more  than  three  hundred  men, 
fall  upon,  discomfit,  and  put  to  route,  an  army,  wliich  for 
multitude  could  hardly  be  numbered.  Judges,  6  chaj). 

In  all  these  instances,  it  was  evident  that  the  token  was 
something  that  had  never  l)een  known  l)efore  ;  something 
singular — strange,  and  calculated  to  make  lasting  impressions 
upon  the  mind.     Nothing  of  an  ordinary  occurrence— nothing 

VOL.  II. — 10 


218  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

that  had  been  common  in  these  countries  would  have  an- 
swered the  purpose  that  these  tokens  were  designed  to  effect. 
Abraham  did  not  feel  assured  of  the  honor  and  prosperity  of 
his  posterity  until  he  saw  the  miraculous  token  of  the  lamp 
and  the  smoking  furnace. 

Moses  it  is  not  likely  would  have  ventured  himself  in  the 
presence  of  so  haughty  and  despotic  a  monarch  as  Pharaoh, 
if  he  had  not  witnessed  the  tokens  presented  to  him  at  Mount 
Horeb.  Nor  would  Gideon  have  assailed  the  camp  of  the 
combined  nations  of  the  east  with  only  three  hundred  men, 
if  he  had  not  been  endowed  with  supernatural  courage  by 
witnessing  the  miracle  of  the  fleece  of  wool  and  the  dew. 

But  let  us  now  return  to  the  case  of  Noah.  No  one  can 
fully  appreciate  the  lonely  and  mournful  state  of  Noah's 
mind  after  he  left  the  ark.  When  he  entered  it,  he  left  be- 
hind him  a  world  filled  with  a  great  and  joyous  popula- 
lation  ;  abounding  in  sources  of  intellectual  and  social  plea-" 
sures.  The  face  of  the  earth  itself,  covered  with  the  end- 
less varieties  of  its  rich  and  beautiful  productions,  and  all 
nature  smiling  in  the  balmy  and  salubrious  airs  of  a  pure 
and  stormless  sky. 

But  when  he  stepped  out  of  the  ark  after  the  flood  had 
subsided,  what  must  have  been  the  sorrow  and  despondency 
of  his  mind,  as  he  looked  upon  the  earth  and  saw  no  signs 
of  life — no  living  being,  except  those  he  had  with  him  in  the 
ark. 

And  when  he  looked  to  the  heavens  he  saw  the  storm- 
clouds  driven  over  its  face  by  tempestuous  winds,  and  the 
sun  buried  in  their  darkness.  The  joyous  companies  of  con- 
stcHations  which  once  glittered  and  danced  in  the  great  vault 
of  tlic  night-sky,  had  become  pale,  cold,  and  sickly,  glimmer- 
ing only  with  a  feeble  light,  just  enough  to  show  that  they 
had  survived  the  universal  ruin,  but  with  the  loss  of  that 
brilliancy  which  once  gave  the  heavens  their  nightly  splen- 
dor. 

Then,  turning  his  eyes  to  the  earth,  he  beheld  its  once  fair 


CHAPTER  XX.  210 

and  beautiful  surface  torn,  broken,  and  riven  iiito  fcnrfid 
chasms.  Sjjlendid  cities,  thronged  with  a  gay  and  active 
population,  and  adorned  with  works  of  art  and  elegance,  and 
vast  regions,  that  once  gave  their  varied  and  rich  produc- 
tions to  men,  and  boundless  forests,  inhaling  the  noon-tide 
heat,  and  sending  forth  from  their  deejjly-shaded  recesses  a 
cool,  invigorating  air  in  return,  were  all  gone  ;  and  where 
these  once  stood,  mighty  seas  now  rolled  their  restless  billows. 
Turbid  rivers  were  seen  swelling  and  rushing  onward  through 
valleys  which  the  flood  had  scooped  out.  Mountains  were 
piled  on  mountains,  over  whose  rugged  cliffs  torrents  were 
leaping  and  plunging  headlong,  from  precipice  to  precipice, 
in  the  wild  uproar  of  a  thousand  cataracts. 

What  must  have  been  the  dread  and  apprehension  of 
Noah  as  he  beheld  this  scene  of  destruction,  and  how  horror- 
struck  he  must  have  been  whenever  he  saw  the  clouds  gather- 
ing in  the  heavens,  and  heard  the  thunders  of  the  coming 
storm  !  He  could  feel  nothing  less  than  an  excruciating 
dread  of  another  deluge. 

Such  would  have  been  the  life  of  terror  that  he  and  his 
posterity  would  have  spent  upon  earth — trembling  with  alarm 
at  every  cloud  that  appeared  in  the  heavens. 

But  God  mercifully  relieved  Noah  and  his  posterity  from 
such  fears,  by  assuring  him  that  the  earth  should  be  no  more 
destroyed  by  a  flood.  This  assurance  was  given  in  the  form 
of  a  covenant,  and  the  rainbow  was  the  token  connected  with 
this  covenant. 

We  read  the  covenant  in  the  tenth  chapter  of  Genesis. 
The  purpose  of  the  covenant  and  the  bow  are  stated  thus  : 
And  I  loill  establish  my  covcnaiit  icith  you  ;  neither  shall  all 
flesh  be  cut  off  any  more  by  the  waters  of  a  flood  ;  neither  shall 
there  any  more  be  a  flood  to  destroy  the  earth.  And  God  said, 
This  is  the  token  of  the  covenant  ivhich  I  make  between  me  and 
you,  and  every  living  creature  that  is  with  you,  for  succeeding 
generations  :  I  do  set  my  bow  in  the  cloud,  and  it  shall  be  for  a 


220  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

tol-en  of  a  covenant  hetween  me  and  the  earth. — (11,  12,  13 
verses.) 

This  bow  was  the  visible  sign  on  which  Noah  was  to  rest 
his  trust  and  confidence  in  the  covenant  promise  that  the 
earth  should  no  more  be  destroyed  by  a  flood.  Would  it, 
then,  have  answered  the  purpose  of  such  a  token  if  Noah  had 
ever  seen  it  before  ?  If  this  gorgeous  arch  had  ever  spanned 
the  antediluvian  heavens,  would  it  have  been  any  more  than 
tantalizing  his  fears  to  direct  his  attention  to  that,  and  tell 
him  to  rest  his  confidence  upon  that  bow,  that  there  would 
be  no  more  flood  upon  the  earth  ?  His  answer  would  have 
been,  "  I  saw  that  bow  in  the  former  sky,  but,  nevertheless, 
"  the  earth  was  destroyed  by  a  flood." 

If  Noah  had  ever  seen  a  rainbow,  or  anybody  else  had 
ever  seen  one  before  the  flood,  it  would  have  been  utterly 
useless  to  offer  him  that  as  a  relief  from  his  dread  of  another 
flood.  It  was  just  because  no  such  thing  had  ever  been  seen 
or  heard  of  in  the  antediluvian  sky,  that  it  was  selected  by 
God  as  the  token  which  should  free  the  mind  of  Noah  and  his 
posterity  from  all  apprehension  of  a  recurrence  of  the  de- 
luge. 

The  rainbow  is  tlie  effect  of  rain.  It  is  nothing  super- 
natural ;  but  as  it  was  to  Noah  something  entirely  new  upon 
thp  face  of  nature,  its  effect  upon  his  mind  was  the  same  as  If 
it  had  been  sui)ernatural. 

The  use  which  God  was  pleased  to  make  of  the  rainbow 
when  one  was  first  produced,  is  a  conclusive  argument  in  sup- 
port of  the  opinion  that  rain,  as  we  are  now  familiar  with  it, 
wns  not  known  in  the  antediluvian  age.  And  if  rain  was 
unknown  then,  and  is  very  common  now,  how  is  this  differ- 
ence in  the  two  climates  to  be  accounted  for  upon  any  other 
principle  than  a  change  in  the  position  of  the  earth  ?  A 
mist  or  copious  dews  supplied  the  place  of  rain  before  the 
flood,  when  all  things  in  nature  were  harmonious,  under  the 
order  and  arrangement  which  God  had  pronounced  to  be 
very  good. 


CHAPTER  XX.  221 

Tliis  brincTS  us  back  to  tlie  i)oiut  from  wliidi  we  started  in 
tins  digression.  We  see  that  sin  has  defaced  the  whole 
world — swept  off  the  population  of  the  old  world,  and  thrown 
the  earth  out  of  its  place,  thereby  introducing  diseases  and 
a  thousand  physical  evils  which  did  not  Ijclong  to  this  earth 
in  its  primeval  state. 

But  in  the  great  physical  regeneration  referred  to  by  our 
Savior,  and  the  restitution  of  all  things,  as  St.  Peter  styles 
it,  speaking  of  the  same  event,  all  those  evils  are  to  be  reme- 
died, and  the  present  heavens  and  earth  are  to  remolded  and 
renovated,  and  converted  into  the  new  heavens  and  the  new 
earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness  only. 

THE    MILLENNIUM. 

The  banishment  of  Satanic  influence  from  the  earth  will 
bring  about  a  new  state  of  things  never  known  l)efore  since 
the  fall  of  man.  In  a  moral  sense,  this  itself  would  consti- 
tute a  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth.  Old  things  will  then 
be  done  away,  and  all  things  will  become  new. 

This  introduces  the  thousand  years'  reign  of  Christ,  and  is 
usually  denominated  the  kingdom  of  God,  by  Christ  and  his 
apostles.  It  is  that  state  our  Savior  referred  to  in  the 
prayer  which  he  taught  his  disciples,  and  through  them,  the 
whole  church — Thy  Idngdom  come — thy  will  he  done  on  earth 
as  it  is  in  heaven.  Whenever  the  Christian  utters  the  Lord's 
prayer,  he  prays  for  the  coming  of  the  Millennium — for  the 
thousand  years'  reign  of  Christ— for  the  appearing  of  the 
kingdom  of  God! 

What  do  w^e  understand  l)y  a  kingdom,  l»ut  where  the  ruh; 
and  autliority  of  the  king  are  submitted  to  and  obeyed  ? 
But  this  is  not  the  case  in  the  present  gospel  economy.  By 
far  the  greater  part  of  the  world,  even  in  Christendom,  is 
opposed  to  the  authority  and  law  of  God,  and  totally  disre- 
gard his  word.  We  cannot,  with  proi)riety,  call  the  present 
state   of  Christianity  the  kingdom  of  God.     But  there   aro 


222  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

many  Christians,  perhaps  the  great  majority  of  them,  who 
never  look  ])eyond  tlie  present  gospel  eeonomy  for  the  king- 
dom of  God  ;  snpposing  that  the  meaning  of  Christ  went  no 
further  than  the  gospel  dispensation,  although  he  tells  us 
plainly  that  the  gospel  is  the  announcement  of  this  kingdom. 
It  calls  to  all  the  world  and  proclaims  the  coming  of  this 
kingdom — it  is  called  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom.  Therefore, 
we  are  to  look  beyond  the  gospel  for  the  kingdom  of  God. 

But  I  need  not  have  quoted  these  Scriptures  in  support  of 
this  position  ;  one  declaration  of  our  Savior  is  fully  sufficient 
to  establish  it — My  Jciiigdom  is  not  of  this  world.  Now  whe- 
ther we  understand  this  world  to  mean  the  present  mundane 
system,  or  the  Christian  dispensation,  in  either  case  the  words 
of  our  Savior  are  of  equal  force.  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this 
world;  and  men  will  understand  when  they  pray — Thy  king- 
dom come,  that  they  are  praying  for  that  which  is  yet  to  come, 
a  higher  and  more  glorious  state  of  the  divine  government, 
than  any  that  has  ever  appeared  before.  I  will  repeat  what 
I  have  said  before,  that  the  Millennium,  or  thousand  years' 
reign  of  Christ  with  his  saints,  is  this  kingdom  of  God. 

The  question  which  divides  the  church  is,  whether  this 
reign  of  Christ  will  be  by  his  Spirit,  or  by  his  personal  pre- 
sence. This  question  will  be  discussed  in  the  further  progress 
of  the  su))ject.  It  is  time  now  to  hear  the  prophet  where  he 
announces  the  introduction  of  the  kingdom.  This  will  be 
seen  in  the  first  clause  of  the  fourth  verse  of  the  chapter. 

4.  And  I  saw  thrones,  and  they  sat  upon  them,  and  judg- 
ment was  given  unto  them. 

Of  wliom  does  the  prophet  speak  when  he  says,  they  sat 
upon  them  ?  that  is,  upon  the  thrones.  Undoubtedly  he 
is  referring  to  those  he  saw  and  described  in  the  eleventh, 
twelfth,  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  verses  of  the  preceding 
chapter— the  armies  in  heaven,  following  Christ,  their  Lord, 
This  great  retinue  represents  the  triumph  of  the  gospel,  and 
the  binding  and  imprisonment  of  Satan  is  the  result  of  this 
triumph. 


CHAPTER  XX.  223 

Following  these  events,  and  in  its  proper  order,  the  pro- 
phet now  sliows  us,  in  that  part  of  the  fourth  verse  quoted, 
the  opening  of  the  millennium  state — the  kingdom  of  God. 
The  terms,  thrones  and  judgment,  employed  by  the  prophet, 
are  not  to  be  taken  in  the  restricted  sense  known  to  us. 
They  are  used  figuratively,  to  convey  the  idea  of  powers, 
dominions  and  governments  ;  such,  probably,  as  St.  Paul 
referred  to  when  speaking  of  what  he  saw  and  heard  in  the 
third  heavens.  He  says  to  this  effect  :  It  hath  not  entered 
into  the  heart  of  man,  nor  hath  his  eye  seen  or  his  ear  heard,  the 
things  which  are  appointed  for  man  in  that  kingdom.  The 
glory  and  dominion  of  that  state  are  beyond  the  highest  con- 
ception of  the  human  mind,  and  can  only  be  known  by  divine 
revelation,  as  they  were  made  known  to  St.  Paul. 

We  will  now  look  at  some  of  the  many  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture which  refer  to  this  kingdom.  Passing  by  what  the  rest 
of  the  Jewish  prophets  have  said  about  it,  I  shall  only  pre- 
sent the  vivid  picture  of  it  as  given  by  that  most  extraor- 
dinary man,  Daniel. 

Daniel  occupies,  amongst  his  compeers  in  the  Mosaic  econ- 
omy, the  same  position  which  St.  John  in  the  Apocalypse 
occupies  amongst  his  brethren,  the  Apostles  of  the  Christian 
Church. 

In  the  explanation  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  dream,  Daniel 
sketched  with  wonderful  precision  the  prominent  features  of 
all  the  great  kingdoms  that  would  rise,  or  that  then  existed 
in  the  earth,  down  to  the  dismemberment  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire ;  and  he  speaks  of  the  kingdoms  that  would  arise  out  of 
the  ruins  of  that  vast  monarchy,  and  says  :  In  the  daijs  of 
these  kings  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom  ichich  shall 
never  be  destroyed  ;  and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other 
people,  but  it  shall  break  in  pieces,  and  consume  all  other  king- 
doms, and  it  shall  stand  forever.  He  is  more  particular  in  his 
description  of  this  kingdom  in  the  seventh  chapter.  I  shall 
quote  only  the  twenty-seventh  verse  of  that  chapter,  as  being 
sufficient  for  my  present  purpose  :    And  the  kingdom  and  do- 


224  TlIK  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

minion,  and  the  grmtmess  of  the  kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven, 
shall  be  given  to  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  whose 
kingdom  is  an  everlasting  kingdom,  and  all  dominions  shall 
serve  and  ohey  him. 

There  are  two  things  to  be  noticed  in  this  description  of  a 
kingdom ;  tlie  first  is,  that  it  was  set  up  by  the  God  of 
heaven,  in  the  days  of  those  khigs,  or  kingdoms,  which  w^ould 
arise  out  of  tlie  ruins  of  the  Roman  Empire.  In  the  time 
when  these  kingdoms  were  established,  and  in  the  exercise  of 
separate  and  independent  sovereignty  as  kingdoms  of  the 
earth,  not  as  hordes  of  barbarians  occupying  different  portions 
of  the  earth. 

These  powers  were  not  known  in  their  character  of  king- 
doms, referred  to  by  Daniel  for  more  than  six  hundred  years 
after  Christ  had  set  up  the  kingdom  of  grace,  or  had  opened 
the  gospel  economy  amongst  men.  It  is  clear,  then,  that  the 
kingdom  of  grace  established  by  Jesus  Christ  while  he  was 
upon  the  earth,  cannot  be  the  kingdom  of  God  spoken  of  by 
the  prophet,  which  will  be  set  up  in  the  time  or  in  the  exist- 
ence of  the  kingdoms  that  grew  up  out  of  the  ruins  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  since  these  kingdoms,  in  the  proper  sense  of 
the  term,  had  no  existence  for  several  centuries  after  the  days 
when  Christ  was  upon  the  earth. 

The  next  point  to  be  noticed  is  tlmt  this  kingdom  will  be 
set  up  in  the  earth,  as  it  ivill  break  to  pieces,  and  consume  all 
other  kingdoms,  and  it  shall  stand  forever.  It  shall  never  be 
destroyed.  It  will  not  be  subject  to  those  revolutions  which 
change  the  present  kingdoms  of  this  world  ;  therefore  this 
kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other  people;  it  will  be  set  up  by 
the  God  of  Heaven,  and  its  dominion  and  greatness  shall  be 
given  to  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  lohose  kingdom  is  an 
everlasting  kingdom. 

The  words  of  our  Savior  are  very  clear  in  their  application 
to  this  kingdom,  both  as  to  its  appointment  and  his  govern- 
ment over  it. 

Verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  ye  which  have  followed  me  in  the 


CHAPTER  XX.  225 

regemration,  ivhen  the  Son  of  Man  shall  sit  on  the  throne  of  his 
glory,  ye  also  shall  sit  upon  tivelves  thrones,  pidging  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel.  (Matt.  xix.  28.)  The  same  promise  is  repeated, 
with  more  fullness,  in  the  twenty-second  chapter  of  Luke  :  Ye 
are  they  which  have  continued  ivith  me  in  my  temptations,  and  lap- 
point  unto  yow  a  kingdom,  as  my  Father  hath  appointed  unto  me, 
that  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  my  table  in  my  kingdom,  and  sit 
on  thrones  judging  the  twelve  t riles  of  Israel. 

This  language  is  so  identical  with  that  used  by  the  prophet 
in  the  Apocalypse,  that  we  see  at  once  who  those  are  he  saw 
sit  upon  thrones. 

The  government  of  this  kingdom  which  God  will  set  up  is 
given  to  Christ — as  my  Father  hath  appointed  unto  me.  The 
supreme  authority  and  power  in  this  kingdom  are  with  Christ; 
he  is  at  its  head,  and  his  followers  are  appointed  by  him  in 
the  exercise  of  those  functions  necessary  to  the  administration 
of  that  kingdom. 

That  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  my  table.  This  is  a  figurative 
expression,  which  denotes  intimate  fellowship  and  honorable 
distinction.  It  refers  to  the  custom  of  kings  when  they  would 
confer  great  honor  upon  their  subjects  by  admitting  them  to 
eat  at  the  king's  table  and  in  his  presence.  All  the  honor  of 
such  an  occasion  arises  from  the  presence  of  the  king. 

This  text  is  conclusive  as  to  the  personal  reign  of  Christ 
with  his  saints  in  that  kingdom.  The  language  which  assures 
us  of  the  personal  presence  of  the  saints  in  this  millennium 
kingdom,  is  as  clear  as  to  the  personal  presence  and  reign  of 
Christ  at  the  same  time.  And  by  what  mode  of  fair  inter- 
pretation can  we  make  the  presence  of  the  saints  a  personal, 
individual,  tangible  presence,  and  explain  the  same  language 
when  it  applies  to  Christ  as  meaning  only  a  spiritual  presence 
with  his  saints  ? 

If  Christ  will  not  appear  personally  in  that  kingdom,  we 
have  no  authority  for  supposing  that  his  saints  will,  and 
the  whole  of  revelation  on  that  subject  becomes  an  unmean- 
ing fancy. 

VOL.  II. — 10* 


226  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

The  eating:  and  drinking  at  his  table  implies  the  existence 
of  a  free,  unrestrained  intercourse  and  fellowship  between 
Christ  and  his  people  in  his  kingdom. 

In  what  respect  would  the  thousand  years'  reign  of  Christ 
differ  from  his  reign  in  the  gospel  dispensation,  if  the  tormer 
is  to  be  a  spiritual  and  not  a  personal  reign  ?  This  present 
gospel  economy  is  the  reign  of  Christ,  by  his  Spirit,  in  the 
hearts  of  his  people.  But  we  must  divest  scripture  language 
of  all  sense  and  meaning,  if  the  thousand  years'  kingdom  is 
not  to  be  something  that  will  greatly  differ  from  the  gospel 
dispensation. 

The  presence  of  Christ  with  his  few  followers  in  the 
beginning  of  Christianity,  was  not  designed  to  be  perman- 
ent. Indeed  the  history  of  his  life  shows  us  that  the  suc- 
cess of  the  gospel  in  the  w^orld,  required  that  his  personal 
presence  should  not  be  continued  on  earth. 

He  said  himself:  Nevertheless^  I  tell  you  the  truth,  it  is 
eiyedlent  for  you,  that  I  go  away  ;  hut  I  icill  send  the  Com- 
forter to  you.  The  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy  Spirit,  sup- 
plies the  place  of  Christ's  personal  presence  with  his  people  ; 
since  all  the  instruction,  comfort  and  encouragement  w^hich 
the  personal  presence  of  the  Savior  could  impart  to  men  in  the 
present  life,  are  received  by  his  church  from  the  presence  and 
in-dwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  That  power  w^iich  is  mighty 
in  pulling  down  the  strongholds  of  Satan  and  reproving 
wickedness  in  high  places,  but  is  nevertheless  invisible  to  the 
eye,  and  not  to  be  reached  by  the  jealous  and  excited  powers 
of  earthly  kings.  If  there  was  a  personal  embodiment  of 
this  power,  those  kings  would  lose  no  opportunity  of  laying 
violent  hands  upon  whomsoever  would  avow  himself  the 
author  of  a  religion  that  so  boldly  rebuked  their  wickedness, 
as  Ahab  sought  to  lay  hands  on  Elijah,  for  a  similar  reason. 
It  was,  therefore,  necessary  for  the  Church — necessary  to  the 
])rogress  of  Christianity,  that  Christ  should  go  away.  He 
hud  given,  in  his  miracles  and  his  death,  and  resurrection,  as 
strong  i)roof  as  could  be  given  of  the  divinity  of  his  religion. 


CHAPTER  XX.  221 

A  lifetime  of  miracles  in  addition,  would  have  added  notliinK 


as  evidence,  to  the  truth  of  his  gospel,  but  would  have  only 
excited  and  chafed  the  pride  and  passions  of  the  wicked 
rulers  of  this  world.  Even  his  feeble  and  obscure  disciples 
became  objects  of  hate  and  vengeance  to  the  haters  of  the 
new  religion  ;  and  his  apostles,  whose  motto  ever  was,  to 
obey  God  rather  than  men,  were  made  to  dwell  in  jails  and 
dungeons,  wear  the  chains  of  cruel  and  despotic  power,  and 
then  suffer  the  horrors  of  the  martyr's  death. 

Such  would  have  been  the  conflicts  with  ungodly  power, 
that  Christ  would  have  been  continually  exposed  to  by  main- 
taining his  personal  presence  with  the  church  in  the  world. 
He  must  either  have  yielded  his  life,  as  he  did  to  the  first 
blow  of  his  enemies,  or  have  destroyed  their  lives  by  his 
almighty  power  ;  which  would  have  given  to  the  gospel  an 
aspect  utterly  incompatible  with  the  forbearing  mercy  and 
good-will  to  man,  which  is  its  true  character. 

The  hearts  of  his  disciples  were  oppressed  with  sorrow  on 
learning  that  he  should  leave  them  ;  but,  besides  consoling 
them  with  assurances  of  the  Comforter,  whom  he  would  send 
to  take  his  place  in  the  church,  he  also  addressed  these  words 
of  consolation  and  tenderness  to  them :  Let  not  your  heart 
be  troubled  ;  ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in  me.  In  my  Fa- 
therms  house  are  many  mansions;  if  it  were  not  so  I  uwidd  have 
told  you.  I  go  to  jprepare  a  place  for  you.  And  if  I  go  and 
prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again,  and  receive  you  unto 
myself,  that  where  I  am  there  ye  may  be  also,  John  14  chap. : 
1,  2,  3  verses. 

This  is  the  saying  which  assures  us  of  our  restored  fellow- 
ship with  Christ,  and  that  we  shall  be  like  him — for  we  shall 
see  him  as  he  is.  Tliese  are  the  words  of  Christ  himself ! 
can  we  have  higher  autliority  ?  This  is  the  great  tap-root 
of  that  tree  of  hope  from  whose  ever-fruitful  branches,  tlie 
humble  follower  of  liis  Lord  gathers  daily  fruit,  strengthen- 
ing his  faith  and  confirming  his  hope,  that  where  his  Lord 
is  there  he  shall  ])e  also. 


228  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

And  whouevor  the  reader  of  these  pages  looks  into  his 
Bil)h',  and  reads  tlie  confident  dedarations  of  the  apostles  : 
Wi  shall  sec  /urn  as  he  is.  Our  rile  body  shall  be  fashioned 
like  unto  his  glorious  body.  When  he  who  is  our  life  shall 
app'ar,  then  tee  also  shall  appear  ivith  him  in  glory.  Now  we 
beseech  you  brethren,  by  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  by  our  gathering  together  unto  him  ;  and  many  other  such 
passages  ;  let  him  know  that  they  all  spring  out  of  that 
word  of  comfort  which  our  Savior  dropped  into  the  hearts 
of  his  sorrowing  disciples — /  will  come  again  and  receive  you 
unto  myself,  that  where  I  am  there  ye  may  be  also  ! 

The  doctrine  of  the  personal  reign  of  Christ  on  the  earth 
in  the  thousand  years,  was  familiar  in  the  early  period  of  the 
church.  It  must  have  been  so,  if  we  take  the  testimony  of 
Scripture.  This  doctrine  was  announced  by  the  two  men  in 
white  apparel  ;  angels  they  were  undoubtedly,  under  the 
garb  of  men,  at  the  very  time  that  Christ  left  the  world  and 
ascended  to  his  Father.  (Acts,  1  chap.:  9, 10  and  11  verses.) 
And  when  he  had  spoken  these  things,  while  they  beheld,  he  was 
taken  up,  and  a  cloud  received  him  out  of  their  sight.  And 
while  they  looked  steadfastly  toward  heaven  as  he  went  up,  be- 
hold, two  men  stood  by  them  in  white  apparel ;  which  also  said, 
"  ye  men  of  Galilee,  why  stand  ye  gazing  up  into  heaven  ?  this 
same  Jesus,  ichich  is  taken  up  from  you  into  heaven,  shall  so 
come  in  like  manner  as  you  have  seen  him  go  into  heaven. 

St.  Paul,  in  the  grand  and  forcible  manner  usual  with  him, 
ottered  a  declaration  to  the  same  effect.  1  Thess.  4  chap.: 
IG,  IT:  For  the  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  heaven  with  a 
shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of  God, 
and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  arise  first.  Then  we,  which  are 
alive  and  remain,  shall  be  caught  up  together  with  them  in  the 
clouds  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air  ;  and  so  shall  we  ever  be  with 
the  Lord. 

It  should  not  surprise  us  that  this  comforting  doctrine  was 
lost  from  the  churcli,  when  we  consider  the  deep  apostasy,  the 
great  falling  away  which  this  same  apostle  predicted  would 


CHAPTER  XX.  229 

happen  to  the  church.  It  commenced,  as  we  have  seen,  in 
the  fifth  century,  and  continued  to  grow  deeper  and  darker 
until  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Not  only  was 
this  doctrine  swept  away  in  this  flood  of  apostasy,  but  almost 
every  other  doctrine  taught  l)y  the  word  of  God  was  super- 
seded by  idle  traditions  and  the  teachings  of  men  of  corrupt 
minds. 

The  Reformation  has  restored  much  of  the  fine  gold  of  gos- 
pel doctrine  which  the  church  had  lost  by  her  apostasy  ;  and 
as  this  light  continues  to  shine  brighter  and  spread  more  ex- 
tensively over  the  earth,  men  will  see  in  its  doctrines  every- 
thing that  is  calculated  to  elevate  man,  and  bring  him  into  a 
happy  state  of  union  and  fellowship  with  Christ. 

It-will  be  objected  by  some,  who  will  say  that  the  kingdom  of 
God  cannot  apply  to  the  thousand  years'  reign  of  Christ,  be- 
cause he  said  to  his  disciples  the  kingdom  of  God  is  within 
you.  True,  the  principles  of  the  kingdom  of  God  are  in  every 
regenerated  man,  but  in  an  embryo  state.  They  are  sown  in 
his  moral  nature,  and  in  their  operation  they  fit  the  man  for 
the  kingdom  of  God  ;  and  when  he  enters  the  state  with 
which  these  principles  connect  him,  in  that  congenial  clime 
they  will  then  have  their  fuller  expansion,  and  will  unite  him 
with  his  Lord  when  he  shall  appear  in  his  glory. 

If  we  carry  with  us  in  our  contemplations  of  the  thousand 
years'  reign  what  the  people  of  God  are  in  this  dispensation, 
afflicted,  tempted,  distressed,  and  persecuted,  and  what  Christ 
was  in  his  short  sojourn  upon  earth — buflfetted,  despised,  a 
man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief — and  what  the 
governments  of  the  earth  were — cruel,  oppressive,  and  perse- 
cuting— we  shall  find  great  difficulty  in  bringing  our  minds 
to  comprehend  how  the  thousand  years  of  the  reign  of  Christ, 
with  his  saints,  upon  earth  can  be  possible.  But  the  apostle 
says,  in  reference  to  that  state.  It  doth  not  yet  appear  ichat  we 
shall  he.  As  if  he  said,  the  things  in  the  present  dispensation 
are  so  infinitely  below  that  glorious  state,  that  not  even  a 
remote  comparison  can  be  formed  from  them  of  what  we  shall 


230  THE  APOCALYPSE  UXVP:rLED. 

bo.  Only  one  Unn^  is  certain,  and  tliat  is,  we  shall  be  like 
him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is. 

I  have  thus  far  attempted  to  establish  the  doctrine  of  the 
personal  reign  of  Christ  in  the  millennium  state.  But  all  has 
not  been  said  on  that  point  that  might  be  adduced.  Further 
observations  on  diflerent  characteristics  of  the  thousand  years' 
reign,  will  add,  incidentally,  other  arguments  in  favor  of  it. 

All  Christians  admit  that  where  Christ  is,  there  his  follow- 
ers will  be.  But  they  say,  that  is  in  heaven — after  the 
heavens  and  earth  are  burned  up,  and  the  day  of  judgment 
has  pronounced  a  final  sentence  upon  every  individual  of 
Adam's  race. 

Enough  has  been  already  said  upon  the  day  of  judgment. 
I  have  shown  it  to  be  a  dispensation  of  the  law — the  day  or 
period  of  time  alluded  to  by  the  apostle  in  his  first  Epistle  to 
Timothy,  chapter  4:14,  15  :  That  thou  keep  this  conwiandment 
without  spot,  unrebukeable,  until  the  appearing  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ :  which  in  his  times  he  shall  show,  ivho  is  the  blessed  and 
only  Potentate,  the  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords.  This  ex- 
ercise of  Christ's  power  and  display  of  his  majesty,  in  subdu- 
ing the  powers  and  dominion  of  earth  to  his  will,  precedes  the 
millennium  state,  as  I  have  shown.  But  the  earth  is  not 
burned  uj),  for  the  thousand  years'  reign  is  upon  the  earth; 
and  it  will  surprise  many  of  my  readers  when  I  say,  that  this 
thousand  years''  state  is  heaven,  and  they  will  be  still  more 
amazed  at  being  told  that  we  dwell  in  a  heaven  now. 

To  make  this  quite  clear,  it  is  only  necessary  that  we  should 
entertain  a  proper  apprehension  of  the  meaning  of  the  term 
heaven.  The  term  has  two  general  significations,  the  one 
moral  or  spiritual,  and  the  other  material.  Whom  have  I  in 
heaven  but  thee  ?  says  the  Psalmist.  The  heaven  is  my  throne — 
Isa.  66  :  1.  Whom  the  heaven  must  receive  until  the  times  of 
the  restitution  of  all  things — Acts  3:21.  For  we  know  if  our 
earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  ivere  dissolved,  ice  have  a  build- 
ing of  God,  an  house,  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the. 
heavens,  [or  the  eternal  heavens] — 2  Cor.  5:1. 


,     CHAPTER  XX.  231 

In  all  these  instances,  the  terra  heaven,  or  heavens,  has  a 
spiritual  signification  ;  and  in  the  following  texts,  a  material 
signification  must  be  supposed  :  Job,  15  chap.  :  15  :  Yea, 
the  heavens  are  not  clean  in  his  sight.  Psalms  19  :  1  :  The 
heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God.  .  Isa.  55  chap.  :  9  :  For  as 
the  heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth. 

But  the  point  I  wish  to  establish  is  this,  that  every  dis- 
pensation which  embodies  in  it  an  appointed  system  of  means 
for  the  exercise  of  the  moral  government  of  God  over  man, 
is  properly  designated  by  the  term  heaven,  or  heavenly.  And 
where  such  a  heaven  is  established,  there  is  the  throne  of 
God,  as  he  says  in  Isaiah  :  The  heaven  is  my  throne — mean- 
ing that  God's  government  is  exercised  there — throne  im- 
plies government. 

In  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  the  apostle  expresses  the 
work  of  grace  wrought  in  us  by  Christ  Jesus,  as  putting  us 
in  heavenly  places  ;  chap.  1:3:  Blessed  he  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with  all 
spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ.  Chap.  11  :  4, 
5,  6  :  But  God  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  for  his  great  love  where- 
with he  loved  us,  even  when  we  were  dead  in  sins,  hath  quickened 
us  together  with  Christ;  and  hath  raisei  us  up  together 
and  made  us  sit  together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus. 
Chap.  3  :  10  :  To  the  intent  that  now,  unto  the  princi- 
palities and  powers  in  heavenly  places,  might  be  known  by 
the  church,  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God.  The  meaning  of 
the  apostle  in  this  text  is,  that  the  secular  powers — the  gov- 
ernments of  this  world,  which  exist  together  with  the  insti- 
tutions of  Christianity,  may  be  made  sensible  of  the  wisdom 
and  mercy  of  God  in  the  salvation  of  men,  by,  or  through 
the  church — the  holy  life  and  conversation  of  her  meml)ers. 

Thus  is  the  present  dispensation  styled  heaven  ;  and  in 
the  Psalms,  and  other  writings  of  the  proi)hets  and  good 
men  of  the  Jewish  dispensation,  the  same  term  of  designa- 
tion is  applied  to  that  economy. 

But  the  thousand  years  of  Christ's  reign  with  his  saints 


232  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

\^ill  be  heaven,  in  an  infinitely  higher  degree  than  either  the 
Jewish  or  the  Christian  dispensation. 

Having  readied  this  state  in  the  Apocalyptic  disclosures, 
I  shall  make  it  the  subject  of  more  particular  remark. 

I  have  kept  before  the  reader,  the  great  subject  of  pro- 
gression, in  the  divine  government  of  God  over  the  world  ; 
and  the  constantly  progressive  powers  of  man's  moral  and 
intellectual  nature  ;  these  are  the  causes  of  the  successive 
and  more  elevated  dispensations  through  which  the  world  is 
passing.  These  progressive  changes  in  the  moral  and  intel- 
lectual world  do  not  strike  the  common  observation  of  men, 
as  sudden  and  unexpected  events  do.  They  are  best  known 
by  the  grand  results  which  they  produce  in  the  great  and 
beneficial  changes  derived  by  society  from  these  results. 

The  great  improvements  in  the  arts,  and  new  discoveries 
in  science,  have  produced  the  steamships,  the  railroads,  and 
the  magnetic  telegraph.  Probably,  very  few  men  knew  to 
what  extent  the  improvements  and  discoveries  in  the  arts 
and  sciences  had  extended,  until  these  wonderful  results  pro- 
claimed it.  And  just  so  it  is  in  the  moral  progression  of 
the  world.  Mankind,  generally,  have  no  distinct  perception 
of  the  extent  to  which  this  has  reached,  by  what  they  see 
around  them  ;  nor  will  they  know,  until  the  great  results 
wliich  are  to  arise  from  this  progression  shall  proclaim  it. 
Tlje  light  and  influence  of  the  divine  government  over  the 
world  must  Kliine  brighter  and  Irighter  to  the  ^perfect  day, 
tlien  the  whole  world  will  become  lighted  with  the  moral  glory 
of  the  kingdom  of  God,  as  the  sky  is  lightened  by  the 
lightnings  that  sliine  out  of  the  east  even  to  the  west,  fill- 
ing the  whole  heavens  with  its  brightness.  Tlie  infinite 
creations  and  dominions  of  tlie  Almiglity,  are  a  subject  too 
vast  for  tlie  grasp  of  man's  intellect  in  his  present  state.  He 
is  not  able  to  comprehend,  by  the  strongest  effort  of  his 
mental  jiowers,  even  the  world  that  he  lives  in,  which  is  but 
a  speck  in  the  boundless  dominions  of  God. 

1  am  far  from  supposing  the  sovereignty  and  benignity  of 


CHAPTER  XX.  233 

the  Almighty  found  their  full  exercise  in  the  creation  of  this 
world,  and  in  recovering  it  after  it  fell  from  its  allegiance  to 
him. 

The  revolt  of  man  from  the  government  of  his  Creator, 
no  doubt  led  to  events  in  the  divine  economy  which  would 
never  have  occurred  if  this  revolt  had  not  taken  place. 

The  intercourse  and  communication  which  Christ  had  with 
his  disciples  and  the  people,  during  his  sojourn  upon  the 
earth,  reveal  to  us  the  fact  of  his  pre-existence  before  he 
came  into  this  world  ;  and  even  before  the  creation  of  this 
world.  The  glory  which  he  had  with  the  Father  before  the 
world  was,  he  spoke  of  while  he  was  yet  with  his  disciples, 
and  it  is  not  presumptuous  in  man  to  suppose,  that  this  glory 
consisted  in  the  exercise  of  divine  sovereignty  in  the  govern- 
ment of  those  many  mansions,  which  he  informed  his  disci- 
ples were  in  his  Father's  house. 

Those  mansions  are  but  imperfectly  thought  of,  if  they  are 
regarded  as  mere  convenient  places  of  abode  for  the  righte- 
ous who  once  dwelt  upon  earth.  The  idea  intended  by  our 
Savior  no  doubt  was,  that  they  were  thrones,  dominions  and 
powers  of  inconceivable  grandeur  and  glory,  to  a  finite  mind, 
with  which  his  sovereignty  had  been  connected  before  he 
came  into  this  world,  and  which  he  had  left  for  a  short  season 
to  execute  the  embassy  of  mercy  to  fallen  man.  Having 
completed  this  work  of  divine  compassion  he  left  the  world 
again,  substituting  for  his  personal  presence  with  his  church, 
the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  apostle  speaking  of  Christ's  coming  into  the  world 
employs  language  not  only  in  harmony  with  these  views,  but 
represents  his  appearance  amongst  men  as  a  temporary  sus- 
pension of  the  dominion  which  he  exercised- over  the  higher 
order  of  intellegences  before  the  world  was  :  For  your  sakes 
he  was  manifested  in  these  last  times.  He  who  was  rich,  for 
your  sakes  became  poor. 

Christ  laid  aside  the  glory  of  his  power  and  dominion 
which  he  had  with  the  Father,  and  clothed  himself  in  the 


234  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

habiliments  of  humanity.  The  riches  of  unspeakable  majesty 
were  dispensed  with,  and  the  loneliness  and  poverty  of  man 
were  assumed  in  their  place.  He  came  amongst  men  as  a 
man — partook,  with  them  who  followed  him,  of  their  scanty 
fare — journeyed  with  them  by  day  and  rested  with  them  by 
night  ;  and  while  he  mingled  his  tears  with  theirs  in  the 
scenes  of  this  world's  sorrows,  he  would  talk  to  them  in 
words  that  made  their  hearts  burn  with  joy. 

In  this  way  the  mercy  and  counsel  of  Heaven  were  brought 
to  bear  upon  this  revolted  portion  of  God's  creatures. 

But  with  this  appearance  of  meanness  and  poverty  in  the 
man  Christ  Jesus,  there  were  occasionally  such  outbreaks  of 
the  divinity  that  was  concealed  under  this  outward  appear- 
ance of  frail  humanity  that  electrified  his  disciples,  and  caused 
tliem  to  exclaim  with  amazement,  what  manner  of  man  is 
til  is  1 

Christ  merely  referred  to  those  mansions,  in  conversation 
with  his  disciples,  as  a  suggestion,  which  their  deeper  expe- 
rience and  knowledge  in  the  things  of  God,  in  subsequent  life, 
might  dwell  upon.  It  is  evident  he  did  not  enter  into  any 
particular  explanation  of  them  ;  these  were,  probably,  among 
the  many  things  he  had  to  say  to  them  which-they  could  not 
hear  at  that  time,  their  moral  vision  being  too  feeble  to  bear 
the  strong  light  of  such  revelations. 

But  he  distinctly  informed  them  that  he  was  going  away 
in  order  to  prepare  a  place  or  mansion  for  them.  And  if  I 
go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  return  and  receive  you  to 
myself,  that  where  I  am  there  ye  may  be  also. 

He  refers  to  this  gathering  of  his  people  with  him  in  al- 
most the  same  language,  in  the  three  evangelists  :  And  he 
took  the  cup  and  gave  thanks,  and  gave  it  to  them,  saying, 
Drink  ye  all  of  it.  But  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  not  drink  hence- 
forth of  this  fruit  of  the  vine,  until  that  day  when  I  drink  it 
fieto  with  you  in  my  Fathcr^s  kingdom — Matthew  and  Mark. 
Luke  gives  the  same  account,  witli  some  slight  variation, 
(chap.  22)  :    Ami  when  the  hour  was  come  he  sat  doicn,  and 


CHAPTER  XX. 


^35 


the  hcrelvc.  apostles  with  him.  And  he  said  unto  them,  xcith  desire 
I  have  desired  to  eat  this  passover  ivith  you  before  I  suffer.  For 
I  say  unto  yon,  I  will  not  any  more  eat  thereof  until  it  he  fid- 
filled  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  And  he  took  the  cup  and  gave 
thanks,  and  said,  Take  this  and  divide  it  among  yourselves.  For 
T  say  unto  you,  I  will  not  drink  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine  until 
the  kingdom  'of  God  shall  come. 

Eating  and  drinking  bread  and  wine,  literally,  cannot  be 
intended  by  our  Savior  in  these  words  ;  but  the  effects  of  the 
atonement  are  referred  to,  and  the  bread  and  wine  are  here 
used  as  the  symbols  of  the  atonement. 

The  effects  of  the  atonement  are  righteousness,  and  joy,  and 
peace,  in  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  the  apostle  says  the  kingdom 
of  God  consists  in  these,  not  in  meats  and  drinks. 

If  the  texts  previously  quoted  to  prove  the  personal  reign 
of  Christ  with  his  saints  in  this  kingdom  are  not  considered 
sufficient  for  that  purpose,  surely  these  words  of  our  Lord  are. 
If  there  will  be  no  personal  presence  of  the  Savior  with  his 
disciples,  when  in  that  kingdom  they  enjoy  the  full  fruits  or 
effects  of  the  atonement,  then  there  could  have  been  no  such 
presence  when  he  administered  the  last  solemn  supper,  with 
the  assurance  that  he  would  resume  it  with  them  in  the  king- 
dom of  God. 

But  the  difficulty  does  not  lie  in  believing  that  the  people 
of  God  will  enjoy  the  personal  presence  of  their  Savior  when 
they  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  :  this  is  promised  as  the 
reward  of  the  righteous.  The  difficulty  is  in  reconciling  their 
minds  to  the  belief  that  the  thousand  years'  reign  is  this 
kingdom.  They  cannot  make  that  kingdom,  which  it  is  here 
contended  is  to  be  on  earth,  consistent  with  tlieir  views  of  the 
infinitely  glorious  heavens — the  very  abode  of  the  great  God 
himself — where  they  have  ever  supposed  the  saints  are  to  look 
for  their  future  home. 

This  difficulty,  however,  will  disappear,  if  we  pay  attention 
to  what  the  Bible  teaches  on  this  subject. 

Daniel  speaks  of  this  kingdom  of  God  as  being  set  up  in 


236  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

tlio  days  of  tlio  kingdoms  which  arose  out  of  the  dismember- 
ment of  the  Roman  Empire.  And  he  fmlher  says  :  The 
saints  of  the  Most  High  shall  take  the  kingdom,  and  possess  the 
kingdom  forever,  even  forever  and  ever. 

Others  of  the  Jewish  prophets  as  well  as  Daniel  spoke  of 
the  kingdom  of  God  that  should  come  ;  and  the  belief  and 
expectation  of  the  people  that  such  a  kingdom  was  to  appear 
in  the  earth,  was  so  well  settled,  that  when  it  was  spoken  of 
by  our  Savior  and  his  apostles  no  explanations  were  ever 
made  in  relation  to  it.    Indeed  none  were  necessary,  for  it  was 
the  invariable  custom  of  the  Jews  to  imbue  the  minds  of  their 
children  with  a  knowledge  of  their  scriptures  ;  so  that  the 
whole  nation  was  educated  in  their  doctrines  and  in  their 
moral  teacliings.  An  instance  of  this  national  sentiment,  that 
the  kingdom  of  God  was  to  appear,  is  mentioned  in  the  his- 
tory of  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  who  was  an  honorable  counsel- 
lor, and  who  went  boldly  unto  Pilate  and  craved  the  body 
of  Jesus,  that  lie  might  place  it  in  his  own  tomb.     It  is  said 
of  this  man  that  he  also  waited  for  the  kingdom  of  God.     His 
knowledge  of  this  kingdom  was  not  derived  from  the  teach- 
ings of  Clirist,  for  Joseph  was  a  Jew,  one  of  the  Sanhedrin  : 
his  knowledge  of  this  kingdom  was  derived  from  the  Jewish 
prophets.    Tlie  first  preaching  of  Christ  was  to  announce  the 
coming  of  this  kingdom.    Mark,  cliap.  1  :  15,  16  :  Now,  after 
that  .John  was  •put  in  prison,  Jesus  came  into  Galilee,  preaching 
the  gospel  of  the  kingdom  of  God.     The  word  gospel,  means 
glad  tidings.     There  was  no  written  gospel  then  as  there  is 
now  ill  the  New  Testament  Scriptures  ;  and  the  meaning  of 
the  text  is,  Christ  preached,  or  proclaimed  the  glad  tidings  of 
tlie  coming  kingdom  of  God.      When  he  retired  into  a  desert 
place,  the  people  followed  him,  and  he  spoke  unto  them  of  the  king- 
dom of  God.     His  instructions  to  his  first  preachers  were,  to 
heal  the  sick,  and  say  unto  the  peo[)le,  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
come  nigh  unto  you. 

Tlie   whole   church   was  instructed  by  our   Savior,  in  the 
prayer  which  he  taught  his  disciples  :  to  pray  for  the  coming 


CHAPTER  XX.  237 

of  the  kingdom  of, God— 7%  kingdom  come  Tlie  idea 
amongst  Christians,  that  the  gospel  system  is  this  kingdom 
of  God,  spoken  of  by  our  Savior  so  frequently,  and  that  the 
miraculous  effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost, was  the  opening  and  setting  up  of  that  kingdom,  is 
entirely  erroneous.  The  gospel  system,  as  it  is  called,  is 
designed  to  qualify  man  for  that  kingdom  ;  it  teaches  us 
what  we  are  to  do  to  enter  into  that  kingdom,  and  holds  up 
the  lamp  of  life  to  direct  our  steps  througli  this  world,  to 
that  more  glorious  state  of  man's  existence  on  the  earth. 
This  has  been  the  whole  scope  and  design  of  Christianity, 
and  will  be  until  the  end  of  the  gospel  day  comes,  when  its 
eiforts  will  cease,  and  those  who  have  followed  its  light  and 
have  been  saved  by  its  teachings,  will  take  their  place  in 
the  kingdom  of  God. 

We  frequently  meet  with  such  sayings  as  these,  in  the 
words  of  our  Savior  :  The  Hngdom  of  God  is  at  hand — The 
kingdom  of  God  is  come  nigh  itnto  you —  Thou  art  not  far  from 
the  kingdom  of  God.  He  refers  in  the  first  two  sayings,  to 
the  order  of  God's  dispensations,  and  not  to  any  particular 
limit  or  period  of  time.  The  kingdom  of  God  is  at  hand,  or 
has  come  nigh  unto  you,  because  it  will  succeed  and  be  next 
in  order  to  the  Christian  dispensation,  which  has  now  com- 
menced ;  and  he  said  to  one  :  Thou  art  not  far  from  the 
kingdom  of  God ;  he  referred  to  those  principles  of  faith  and 
righteousness  which  he  saw  growing  in  the  heart  of  that 
individual,  and  which  would  result  in  qualifying  him  for  a 
place  in  that  kingdom. 

Whenever  the  Lord  speaks  of  taking  possession  of  his 
kingdom,  he  invariably  speaks  of  himself  as  co?}iing  for  that 
purpose,  not  that  his  people  are  going  to  that  kingdom,  but 
that  he  is  coming  again,  to  receive  them  to  himself.  When 
the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  his  glory,  and  all  the  holy  angels 
with  him,  then  shall  he  sit  upon  the  throne  of  his  glory.  And  I 
appoint  unto  you  a  kingdom  as  my  Father  hath  appointed  unto 
me,  that  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  my  table,  in  my  kingdom,  and 


238  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

sit  nn  thrones  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  By  virtue 
of  the  heirship  spoken  of  by  the  apostle — heirs  of  God  and 
joint  heirs  with  Christ,  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  will  pos- 
sess the  kingdom  and  reign  conjointly  with  Christ.  This  is 
the  opening  of  the  glorious  kingdom  of  God,  given  to  us  in 
the  words  of  our  Savior  himself  ;  and  the  prophet,  in  the 
Apocalypse,  reflects  the  same  scene  from  his  prophetic  mirror, 
with  the  grandeur  of  majesty  itself:  And  I  saw  thrones  and 
they  sat  upon  them,  and  jiidgment  was  given  unto  them  *  *  * 
and  they  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  Oj  thousand  years. 
This  is  the  great  company  of  the  redeemed,  which  the  pro- 
phet saw  and  heard,  in  the  fifth  chapter  and  tenth  verse,  as 
the  grand  chorus  rolled  out  from  their  innumerable  harps 
and  trumpet  songs — Thou  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy 
blood,  out  of  every  kindred  and  tongue,  and  people  and  nation  ; 
and  hast  made  us  unto  God,  kings  and  priests :  and  we  shall 
reign  on  the  earth. 

The  design  of  the  Creator  in  bringing  this  world  into  ex- 
istence was,  that  his  glory  might  be  manifested  by  an  order 
of  intelligent  beings,  only  a  little  lower  than  the  angels. 
Docs  not  Christ  say  this  in  the  language  which  he  will 
address  to  the  righteous  when  he  shall  sit  upon  the 
throne  of  his  glory? — Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit 
the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  (or  at)  the  foundation  of 
the  world.  The  world  was  founded,  and  the  magnificent 
drapery  of  the  visible  creation  was  hung  around  it,  to  be 
the  abode  of  beings  created  in  the  image  and  likeness  of 
God. 

This  is  the  same  earth  that  Adam  dwelt  upon,  in  the  purity 
and  simplicity  of  his  paradisiacal  state  ;  the  same  earth  that 
the  antediluvians  inhabited  for  seventeen  hundred  years, 
amongst  whom  Enoch  walked  with  God  three  hundred  years. 
It  is  the  same  earth  that  was  drowned  by  the  flood  ;  the 
same  earth  that  the  Son  of  God  came  from  heaven,  and 
dwelt  u[)on  in  humble  companionship  with  men — the  same 
earth  in  which  he  attested  his  power  and  Godhead  by  mira- 


CHAPTER  XX.  239 

cles,  then  yielding  up  his  life  on  the  cross,  and  rising  again 
from  the  dead  and  living  and  conversing  with  man  as  he  had 
done  before  his  crucifixion  ;  then,  in  their  presence,  ascend- 
ing up  into  heaven  out  of  their  sight !  and  it  is  the  same 
earth  on  which  he  will  appear  again  the  second  time,  in  glory, 
when  the  kingdom  of  God  will  come,  and  his  people  will  be 
forever  with  their  Lord.  And  I  will  say  further,  that  there 
is  no  revelation  made  to  us  in  the  word  of  God,  of  man's 
future  happiness,  that  is  not  limited  to  this  world — this  ma- 
terial universe.  I  do  not  say  that  man's  eternity  of  bliss  is 
to  be  enjoyed  in  this  world  alone,  but  I  say  that  the  revela- 
tions of  the  Bible  in  respect  to  this  future  happiness,  does 
not  reach  beyond  this  world.  Future  revelations  will  be 
made  to  him  on  this  subject,  as  the  enlargement  of  his  spir- 
itual capacities  will  enable  him  to  comprehend  them. 

Having,  as  I  think,  clearly  established  the  connection  be- 
tween the  thousand  years'  reign  of  Christ  with  his  saints, 
and  the  kingdom  of  God,  showing  them  to  be  one  and  the 
same,  and  that  this  earth  will  be  the  theater  of  that  glori- 
fied state  of  the  saints — I  now  proceed  to  show,  more  at 
large,  what  we  learn  from  Scripture,  to  be  the  purpose  of 
that  kingdom,  and  what  will  be  the  physical  or  sensible 
appearance  with  which  it  will  come. 

The  present  gospel  dispensation  is  not  calculated  to  effect 
the  full  attainment  of  man  in  the  great  spiritual  perfection 
for  which  he  was  created.  It  answers  the  end  of  its  appoint- 
ment in  teaching  the  way  to  this  perfection,  and  providing 
the  means  and  helps  to  put  man  forward  in  that  way. 

Clogged  as  the  soul  of  man  is  with  the  cumbrous  weight  of 
mortality,  with  temptations  and  allurements  of  the  senses,  the 
pain  and  agony  of  disease,  and  the  ties  and  sympathies  which 
bind  him  to  earthly  interests,  it  is  impossible  for  him  in  such 
a  state  to  attain  the  maturity  of  those  powers  and  principles 
of  his  nature  which  are  to  give  him  his  rank  next  to  angelic 
beings  in  the  order  of  the  divine  government.  He  must  oc- 
cupy another  position,  where  he  will  be  freed  from  such  em- 


240  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

barrassments,  and  where  every  circumstance  and  influence 
that  will  surround  and  affect  him,  will  promote  his  purity  and 
expand  his  immortal  nature. 

The  apostle,  in  the  thirteenth  chapter,  1  Cor.,  argues  to 
this  same  point.  He  there  contrasts  the  two  states,  and  sets 
forth  in  strong  colors  the  superior  advantages  of  the  next 
state  over  the  present  one,  in  perfecting  the  moral  and  spiri- 
tual nature  of  man. 

He  begins  this  contrast  at  the  eighth  verse,  and  states  that 
all  our  worldly  attainments  will  fail  and  vanish  away.  And 
to  give  a  distinct  idea  of  the  imperfection  of  all  that  man  can 
acquire  in  the  present  life,  he  says  :  We  knoic  in  jpart  only  ; 
ICC  see  through  a  glass  darkly,  and  of  course  can  have  but  an 
imperfect  view  of  things  ;  using  objects  of  sense  to  illustrate 
spiritual  things  ;  and  those  objects  of  sense,  seen  through  a 
darkened  or  discolored  glass,  give  us  a  very  imperfect  idea  of 
their  true  form  and  proportions,  so  spiritual  subjects  are  but 
partially  understood  even  by  the  most  enlightened  under- 
standings. But  this  will  not  be  the  case  in  the  next  world, 
or  the  next  state  of  man's  existence.  There  we  shall  see  eye 
to  eye,  and  ice  shall  know  even  as  we  are  known. 

The  apostle  further  illustrates  the  superior  condition  of 
man  in  that  world  by  the  natural  growth  and  expansion  of 
the  human  mind  in  this  present  life.  He  says  :  When  I  urns 
a  child,  I  spake  as  a  child,  I  understood  as  a  child,  I  thought 
as  a  child ;  hut  uhen  I  became  a  man,  I  put  away  childish 
things.  His  argument  is  this,  that  in  the  next  state  in  the 
next  world  man  will  be  as  much  superior  in  moral  and  intel- 
lectual greatness  to  what  he  is  now,  as  manhood  here,  in  the 
richness  and  maturity  of  its  intellectual  powers,  is  superior  to 
the  condition  of  childhood. 

In  the  present  state  we  know  in  part,  we  prophecy  in  part, 
because,  from  the  nature  of  things  and  the  constitution  of 
man,  everything  is  imi)erfect.  But  when  that  state  which  is 
jicrfect  shall  come,  then  that  which  is  in  part,  or  imperfect, 
will  be  done  away,  and  man  will  enter  into  that  state  of  being 


CHAPTER  XX.  241 

where  his  moral  and  spiritual  powers  will  meet  with  no  ob- 
struction to  their  development,  and  his  physical  nature  will  be 
in  harmony  with  the  glorified  body  of  his  Lord. 

The  apostle,  in  these  illustrations,  is  reasoning  upon  the  con- 
tinuous being  of  man,  and  shows  what  he  is  in  tliis  world,  and 
what  the  same  man  will  be  in  the  next  world  ;  and  from  his 
reasoning  we  must  conclude  that  the  moral  and  spiritual  per- 
fection of  man's  nature  is  not  to  be  looked  for  in  the  present 
world.  In  his  Epistle  to  the  Philipi)ians,  (chap.  3,)  the 
apostle  gives  his  own  experience  on  this  subject,  and  most 
distinctly  says  'that  he  had  not  attained  to  this  perfection, 
and  clearly  intimates  that  he  does  not  expect  it  here.  He 
says  :  This  one  thing  I  do,  forgetting  those  things  ichich  are 
behind — not  looking  for  the  full  development  of  my  moral  and 
spiritual  nature  in  the  present  dispensation,  and  reaching  forth 
unto  those  things  which  are  before — /  jpress  toward  the  mark 
for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus.  His 
whole  soul  seems  to  be  engaged  in  urging  itself  onward  to 
that  state  where  his  perfected  nature  will  ever  enjoy  the  glo- 
ries of  the  high  calling  which  God  has  given  to  all  men  iu 
Christ  Jesus. 

The  vehement  desire — the  earnest  pressing  forward  to  the 
things  before,  or  in  the  future  state,  expressed  by  the  apos- 
tle, were  very  appropriate  to  him  ;  for  St.  Paul  was  the 
only  man,  perhaps,  who  was  ever  favored  with  so  full  a  vision 
of  that  state,  and  permitted  to  return  to  earth  again.  I 
shall  merely  give  the  apostle's  own  account  of  that  vision 
now,  but  will  make  further  use  of  it  hereafter.  In  the  12th 
chap.,  2  Cor.,  he  says — I  knew  a  man  in  Christ  above  fourteen 
years  ago,  (lohether  in  the  body,  I  cannot  tell ;  or  whether  out 
of  the  body  I  cannot  tell :  God  knoweth,)  such  a  one  caught  up 
to  the  third  heavens.  And  I  knew  such  a  man  (whether  in  the 
body  or  out  of  the  body,  I  ca7inot  tell :  God  knoweth.)  How 
that  he  was  caught  up  into  paradise,  and  heard  unspeakable 
words,  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  fitter. 

No  one  doubts  that  St.  Paul  was  the  man  here  spoken  of. 

VOL.  II. — 11   -^* 


242  THE  APOCALYrSE  UNVEILED. 

He  gives  a  sufficient  reason  for  not  proclaiming  himself  as 
the  man  who  was  caught  up  to  the  third  heavens,  and  the 
things  he  heard  and  saw  there.  He  says  it  was  not  lawful 
for  a  man  to  utter  what  was  heard  there,  meaning  the  whole 
vision,  or  the  revelation  thus  made  to  him.  It  would  have 
been  very  unsafe  for  the  apostle  to  have  repeated  what 
he  saw  and  heard  in  the  third  heaven  ;  for  his  countrymen, 
the  Jews,  were  still  burning  with  indigaation  against  Christ, 
whom  they  had  recently  crucified,  and  if  St.  Paul  had  told 
them  that  he  had  seen  Him  they  had  put  to  death  on  the 
cross,  enthroned  in  glory,  they  would  have  put  him  to  death 
likewise.  The  apostle's  ministry  would  have  been  at  an  end 
with  the  Jews  if  he  had  uttered  what  he  saw  ;  it  was  there- 
fore expedient  that  he  should  be  cautious  in  speaking  in  his 
public  ministry  of  the  things  that  had  been  revealed  to  him. 
The  sim])le  story  he  told  of  his  miraculous  conversion,  ex- 
cited their  passions,  and  they  cried  out — Jlway  with  such  a 
fdlow,  it  is  not  Jit  that  he  should  live. 

Throughout  St.  Paul's  writings,  when  he  speaks  of  the 
next  world,  he  speaks  with  the  directness  and  familiarity  of 
its  glory  and  perfection,  that  we  should  expect  from  one  who 
had  seen  it  all.  He  tells  us  of  the  spirits  of  the  just  made 
perfect  there  ;  and  of  the  glorious  body  of  the  Lord  Christ, 
and  that  flesh  and  blood,  or  man  in  his  present  nature,  can- 
not inherit  or  exist  in  that  kingdom  ;  and  many  other  things 
he  says  of  the  next  state  of  man's  being,  which  w^e  do  not 
find  in  the  writings  of  the  other  apostles. 

St.  Peter  refers  to  those  bold  and  lofty  descriptions  of  his 
brother  apostle,  expressing  his  admiration  of  the  wisdom  of 
Paul's  writings,  especially  of  the  profound  knowledge  he 
evinced  in  all  those  things  that  St.  Peter  had  just  spoken  of 
in  the  five  or  six  preceding  verses  of  the  chapter,  and  says, 
there  are  some  things  in  Paul's  Epistles  hard  to  be  understood. 
Because,  they  refer  to  those  scenes  which  were  revealed  to 
the  apostle  in  the  third  heaven — subjects  that  no  human 
mind  could  ever  have  discovered. 


CHAPTER  XX.  243 

But  the  glories  of  the  next  state  of  man's  l)ein_ti:,  to;i:ptlier 
with  some  idea  of  the  order  and  j:^overnment  wiiicii  will  clia- 
racterize  it,  were  to  be  a  part  of  the  gospel  teaching — the 
church  was  to  be  indoctrinated  in  the  nature  and  design  of 
the  third  heavens,  or  the  kingdom  of  God,  so  far  as  it  could 
be  made  known  to  man  in  his  present  state.  It  was  there- 
fore proper,  that  the  apostles  should  receive  those  mysterious 
revelations,  that  they  might  use  them  in  instructing  the 
church. 

St.  Paul  designates  his  vision  both  by  the  third  heaven 
and  paradise,  corroborating  what  I  have  said  respecting  the 
regeneration  of  the  earth  and  the  restitution  of  all  things, 
when  the  world  would  be  restored  to  what  it  was  when  it 
came  from  the  hand  of  the  Creator,  who  pronounced  it — 
very  good!  It  was  there — Paradise  !  And  the  thousand 
years'  reign  will  be  also  the  third  heaven.  The  Jewish  econ- 
omy was  the  first  heaven — the  Christian  dispensation  is  the 
second  heaven — and  the  kingdom  of  God,  or  the  thousand 
years'  reign  of  Christ,  will  be  the  third  heaven.  This  third 
heaven  St.  Paul  was  made  acquainted  with  by  the  vision  he 
speaks  of. 

His  was  not  the  only  revelation  made  to  man  of  the  future 
glory  of  the  saints,  but,  it  was  probably  the  most  comprehen- 
sive and  particular.  The  glories  of  the  next  world  were  very 
partially  revealed  to  Peter  and  James,  and  John,  long  before 
the  vision  of  St.  Paul. 

This  great  apostle  says,  he  was  as  one  born  out  of  due 
time.  The  other  apostles  had  lived  in  familiar  intercourse 
with  the  Lord — had  been  taught  the  purpose  of  his  mission 
and  the  doctrines  of  salvation  from  his  own  mouth  ;  and  had 
received,  while  the  Savior  dwelt  amongst  them,  a  revelation 
of  the  kingdom  of  God.  But,  although  St.  Paul  had  not 
enjoyed  any  of  those  early  advantages  which  fell  to  the  lot  of 
bis  brethren,  he  tells  us  that  deficiency  was  fully  made  up  to 
him  by  revelation.  He  had  also  seen  Christ,  who  mercifully 
arrested  him  and  spoke  peace  to  him,  while  on  his  way  to 


244  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

persecute  the  saints  at  Damascus  ;  aud  then  he  was  also 
made  personally  acquainted  with  the  kingdom  of  God,  by  tlie 
unspeakable  grandeur  of  his  exaltation  and  vision,  in  the 
third  heaven. 

The  revelation  made  to  the  three  disciples  above-named, 
of  the  outward  glory  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  is  recorded  by 
Matthew,  in  these  words  :  For  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in 
the  glory  of  his  Father,  with  his  angels,  and  then  he  shall  re- 
ivard  every  man  according  to  his  icorks.  Verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  there  he  some  standing  here  which  shall  not  taste  of  death 
till  they  see  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in  his  kingdom. 

The  evangelist  immediately  proceeds  to  show  how  this  say- 
ing was  fulfilled  : 

1.  And  after  six  days,  Jesus  taketh  Peter,  James,  and  John, 
(his  brother,)  and  bringeth  them  up  into  a  high  mountain 
apart, 

2.  And  was  transfigured  before  them  :  and  his  face  did  shine 
as  the  sun,  and  his  raiment  was  white  as  the  light. 

3.  And  behold  there  appeared  unto  them  Moses,  and  Elias 
talking  with  him. 

4.  Then  answered  Peter,  and  said  unto  Jesus,  Lord,  it  is 
good  for  us  to  be  here  :  if  thou  wilt,  let  us  make  here  three, 
tabernacles  :  one  for  thee,  and  one  for  Moses,  and  one  for  Elias. 

5.  Wliile  he  yet  spake,  behold  a  bright  cloud  overshadowed 
them,  and  behold  a  voice  out  of  the  cloud,  which  said,  This  is  my 
beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased ;  hear  ye  him. 

6.  And  when  the  disciples  heard  it,  they  fell  on  their  face, 
and  were  sore  afraid. 

The  first  impressions  made  upon  the  mind  of  the  disciples 
by  the  commencement  of  this  manifestation  were  impressions 
of  joy.  But  as  the  representation  increased  in  its  glory,  and 
they  beheld  the  face  of  their  Lord  kindling  into  the  bright- 
ness of  the  sun,  and  his  raiment  growing  into  a  fabric  of 
pure  light,  then,  looking  \\\)  and  around,  they  saw  the  whole 
mountain  canopied  by  a  cloud,  with  the  very  brightness  of 
heaven  in  it  ;  and  while  it  filled  everything  about  them  with 


CHAPTER  XX.  245 

its  unearthly  efFulgence,  a  voice,  as  unfamiliar  to  human  cars 
as  the  cloud  was  to  human  eyes,  announced,  in  tones  of  thun- 
der, this  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased  :  hear 
ye  him,  their  joy  was  converted  into  dread,  and,  no  longer 
able  to  look  upon  a  scene  of  such  overwhelming  magnificence 
and  grandeur,  they  fell  upon  Jiheir  faces,  amazed  and  con- 
founded. 

St.  Peter  makes  use  of  this  august  scene,  to  confirm  his 
words  respecting  the  coming  kingdom  of  God  in  his  second 
Epistle:  For  we  have  not  followed  cunningly-devised  fables,  when 
we  made  known  unto  you  the  power  and  coming  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  but  were  eye-witnesses  of  his  Majesty  ^  *  *  * 
when  we  were  with  him  in  the  holy  mount. 

This  was  but  a  miniature  representation  of  the  outward  or 
sensible  appearance  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  restricted  and 
adapted  to  mortal  eyes  ;  and  yet  mortal  eyes  could  not  en- 
dure the  sight.  If  even  this  small  glimpse  of  the  glory  which 
will  fill  and  distinguish  the  kingdom  of  God  could  not  lie 
looked  upon  by  mortal  eyes,  well  might  St.  Paul  say,  flesh 
and  blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God. 

In  order  to  dwell  in  that  kingdom,  we  must  have  a  physi- 
cal organization  adapted  to  its  glories  :  we  must  have  bodies 
of  very  different  powers  and  capabilities  from  those  we  now 
possess.  The  image  of  the  earthly  cannot  be  borne  there  ; 
we  must  bear  the  image  of  the  Lord  from  heaven  ;  yea,  we 
must  be  like  unto  his  glorious  body.  This  is  the  resurrection 
body. 

The  next  inquiry  connected  with  this  subject  is,  who  will 
dwell  in  this  kingdom  of  God,  and  with  what  body  will  they 
come  ?  This  leads  to  some  reflections  upon  the  resurrection, 
which  will  occupy  a  separate  chapter. 

THE    FIRST    RESURRECTION  ;    OR,  RESURRECTION    OP    THE    JUST. 

From  what  I  have  said  on  the  subject  of  the  millennium, 
it  will  appear  that  the  resurrection  is  the  epoch   in   man's 


246  THE  APOCALYPSE  UX VEILED. 

existence  which  introduces  it.  It  cannot  be  supposed,  that 
so  great  an  event  in  the  being  of  man,  as  his  Resurrection, 
or  his  new  life,  would  have  been  left  out  of  the  visions  of  the 
Apocalypse.  The  glorified  state  of  man's  existence,  after 
his  present  mortal  life,  is  evidently  intended  to  be  represented 
in  the  fourtli  verse  of  the  twentieth  chapter.  Christ  and 
his  apostles  have  said  much  on  this  subject,  and  held  it  up 
as  a  fundamental  doctrine  of  the  Christian  religion  ;  and  the 
Apocalypse,  as  I  have  before  remarked,  seems  to  be  a  pic- 
torial, or  scenic,  representation  of  what  they  taught. 

4.  And  I  saw  thrones,  and  they  sat  iijponthem,  and  judgment 
was  given  unto  them.  And  I  saw  the  souls  of  them  that  were 
hchcadcd  for  the  witness  of  Jesus  and  for  the  word  of  God,  and 
which  had  not  worshiped  the  beast,  neither  his  image,  neither  had 
received  his  mark  upon  their  foreheads,  or  in  their  hands,  and 
they  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand  years. 

The  prophet  by  this  description  of  those  he  saw  living  and 
reigning  with  Christ,  does  not  refer  to  the  martyrs  only  ; 
this  worship  of  the  beast  and  his  image,  and  bearing  the 
mark  of  the  false  religion  which  they  represent,  draws  the 
line  of  distinction  between  the  godly  and  the  ungodly.  And 
to  the  righteous  only,  does  the  prophet's  description  apply. 
Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the  first  resurrection. 

If  it  is  contended  that  this  is  merely  an  allegorical  resurrec- 
tion, and  means  nothing  more  than  the  ultimate  triumph  of 
Christianity  over  the  errors  and  superstition  of  all  false  reli- 
gion— what  will  be  said  of  the  second  resurrection  which 
takes  place  at  the  end  of  the  thousand  years  ?  That  must 
be  allegorical  too  ;  and,  if  both  are  so,  there  would  be  no 
resurrection  at  all.  And  if  the  first-described  resurrection 
is  alh"g<jrical,  and  the  last  one  literal,  then  there  would  be  a 
resurrection  of  the  ungodly  only — and  no  resurrection  of  the 
just !  But  what  does  Christ  say,  and  his  apostles,  on  this 
subject?  All  they  say  is  summed  up  by  the  prophet  in  this 
sliort  sentence  of  the  sixth  verse  :  Blessed  a7id  holy  is  he  that 
Juitli  part  in  the  first  resurrection — that  is,  the  just — the  righ- 


CHAPTER  XX,  247 

teous — the  children  of  tlie  kingdom  only  are  the  subjects  of 
this  first  resurrection.  And,  to  make  the  distinction  more 
emphatic,  the  prophet  says,  in  the  fifth  verse  :  But  the  rest 
of  the  dead  lived  not  again,  until  the  thousand  years  were 
finished. 

Christian  doctrine,  as  well  as  the  history  of  earthly  gov- 
ernments, are  represented  in  the  Apocalypse  in  symbols, 
figures  and  metapliors,  when  they  can  be  represented  in  that 
way.  But,  can  we  conceive  of  any  figure  or  metaphor,  that 
could  adequately  present  the  resurrection  to  our  view  ?  There 
was  but  one  way  in  which  the  resurrection  could  be  seen, 
and  that  was  in  the  simple  facts  as  given  by  the  prophet : — 
Once  I  saw  the  people  of  God  'persecuted  and  cruelly  tormented 
by  men,  their  navies  cast  out  as  evil,  and  themselves  banished 
from  their  country  and  kindred,  and  beheaded  [a  general  term 
for  martyrdom]  for  the  word  of  God  and  the  testimony  of  Jesus. 
But  now  I  behold  litem  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  living  and 
reigning  ivith  Christ  a  thousand  years.  This  the  only  repre- 
sentation the  prophet  could  give  of  the  resurrection — this  is 
all  that  he  could  say  about  it.  And  while  he  gazed  upon 
this  scene  of  the  future  and  glorious  life  of  the  righteous — 
looking  out  upon  it  from  the  solitude  and  banishment  he  was 
then  suffering  for  the  testimony  he  had  borne  to  the  truth 
of  Christianity,  what  transports  of  joy  must  he  have  experi- 
enced under  the  assurance  that  he  would  have  his  portion 
amongst  them  ? — that  the  solitude  of  Patmos  would  be  ex- 
changed for  the  unspeakable  glories  of  the  kingdom  of  God — 
the  thousand  years'  reign  with  Christ  and  his  saints. 

As  this  vision  represents  a  subject  of  greater  interest  to 
the  church  than  any  other  that  has  yet  been  under  our  notice, 
I  wish  to  enter  upon  its  discussion  understandingly.  And, 
the  first  point  to  be  settled  is  :  what  is  meant  by  the  resur- 
rection ? 

This  question  to  the  generality  of  Christians  may  seem  to 
be  a  very  singular  one,  and  they  at  once  answer  it  by  saying  : 
"  Why,  does   not   everybody  know   that    the  resurrection 


248  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

"  means  the  rising  again  of  the  bodies  of  all  the  dead  at  the 
"day  of  judgment,  according  to  the  words  of  the  Lord? 
"  All  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of 
"  Mnn  and  shall  come  forth  1 " 

This  is  the  popular  opinion  of  the  resurrection,  and  it  is 
precisely  the  opinion  tliat  was  entertained  of  it  by  the  Jews, 
as  far  as  tliey  Ijclieved  in  the  resurrection  at  all,  and  it  has 
come  down  with  the  current  of  Christian  belief  with  such 
force  that  it  will  require  a  strong  effort  to  stem  the  current, 
and  overcome  its  effects  upon  our  judgment  and  our  faith. 

That  the  Jews  and  early  converts  to  Christianity  held 
opinions  on  this  subject  not  entirely  free  from  error,  we  must 
infer  from  the  words  addressed  by  our  Savior  to  Martha,  on 
the  occasion  of  her  brother's  death  ;  as  well  as  from  the 
elaborate  and  philosophical  argument  in  which  St.  Paul  vin- 
dicates the  true  view  of  that  subject,  in  his  epistle  to  the 
Corinthian  Church. 

When  Christ  assured  Martha  that  her  brother  should  rise 
again,  she  replied,  according  to  the  Jewish  belief  respecting 
the  resurrection  :  I  know  that  he  shall  rise  again  in  the  resur 
rection  at  the  last  day.  Jesus  answered  her  and  said  :  I  am- 
the  resurrection  and  the  life. 

Now,  if  Martha's  belief  had  expressed  all  that  was  em- 
braced in  a  proper  view  of  the  resurrection,  what  necessity 
was  there  for  these  words  of  our  Savior  ?  He  evidently  intended 
to  give  the  mind  of  his  infant  church  a  new  direction  and  a 
new  impulse,  and  to  prepare  it  for  the  fuller  instruction  that 
would  be  given  in  the  apostolic  days  on  that  subject. 

To  answer  the  preliminary  question  above  stated,  I  will 
say,  that  the  resurrection  is  simply  a  change  in  the  mode  of 
man's  existence.  And  I  hold  that  the  present  body  of  man, 
which  dies  and  goes  to  corruption,  will  never  be  reanimated  ; 
it  will  never  perform  the  functions  of  life  again.  It  has 
served  its  purpose  in  carrying  the  man  through  his  mortal 
state  ;  l)ut  as  it  has  no  adaptation  suitable  to  the  immortal 
state — that  state  which  flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit  or 


CHAPTER  XX. 


249 


dwell  in— it  is  laid  aside,  or  exchanged  for  a  new  body  fash- 
ioned like  nnto  Christ's  i^-lorious  body. 

This  probably  explains  the  sense  of  Christ's  words  to 
Martha  :  he  is  the  model  or  standard  of  the  resurrection  or- 
der of  existence,  according  to  the  illnstration  which  he  gave 
to  the  three  disciples  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration. 

But  the  very  brief  account  which  our  Lord  gave  to  the 
Sadducees  of  the  resurrection  state,  shows  it  to  be  a  state  of 
existence  so  different  from  the  present,  that  all  idea  of  the 
present  body  must  be  utterly  excluded  from  that  state.  We 
will  hear  our  Savior's  words  about  it.  The  Sadducees  denied 
the  resurrection  in  any  form  whatever,  and  they  attempted  to 
refute  this  doctrine  of  the  Christian  faith  by  adducing  the 
case  of  the  woman  who  had  been  the  wife  of  seven  husbands, 
saying  to  Christ,  Whose  wife  will  she  be  of  the  seven  in  the  re- 
surrection ? 

The  reply  of  the  Savior  was  :  Ye  do  err,  not  knowing  the 
Scriptures  nor  the  poicer  of  God  ;  for  in  the  resurrection  they 
neither  marry  nor  are  given  in  marriage,  hut  are  as  the  angels 
of  God  in  heaven. 

In  this  exposition  of  the  ignorance  of  this  unbelieving  sect, 
we  learn  that  the  next  state  of  man's  being  will  bring  him 
into  a  resemblance  to  angelic  beings.  His  moral  likeness  to 
them  will  be  in  their  angelic  purity,  and  in  their  superior  hi- 
tellectual  powers,  while  the  physical  organization  of  the  re- 
surrection man  will  be  like  unto  the  glorious  body  of  his 
Lord.  Of  course,  the  passions,  the  appetites  and  desires  of 
the  present  body,  will  make  no  part  of  the  resurrection  life, 
nor  can  this  body  in  any  way  serve  the  superior  interests  of 
that  life. 

The  apostle,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  in  the  fif- 
teenth chapter,  lays  this  down  as  an  indisputable  principle, 
that  the  corruptible  body  which  the  man  now  wears  is  not 
the  body  that  he  will  appear  in  in  his  resurrection  state.  This 
is  his  position,  and  he  argues  at  length  in  that  chapter  to 
establish  it. 

TOL.  II. — 11* 


250  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

It  is  very  evident  that  he  is  contending  against  some  erro- 
neous views  on  the  subject  of  the  resurrection  entertained  by 
Christians  ;  and  from  the  direction  which  the  course  of  his 
argument  takes,  we  see  very  clearly  that  the  error  consisted 
in  supposing  that  this  present  body  is  to  identify  the  man  iu 
his  resurrection  state  just  as  it  does  in  the  present  life. 

I  need  not  reiterate  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  the  first  Cor- 
inthians— it  is  easy  to  refer  to  it.  I  will  only  take  such 
points  of  the  apostle's  argument  as  apply  directly  to  the  ques- 
tion before  us. 

A  part  of  the  chapter  is  employed  in  refuting  the  Saddu- 
cees  who,  no  doubt,  followed  up  the  church  in  different 
places  with  their  old  heresy  on  this  subject  ;  but  he  after- 
wards refers  to  those  wiio,  admitting  the  resurrection,  could 
not  conceive  how  man,  who  lived  in  a  mortal  body  here,  could 
ever  live  in  any  other  body  than  the  present  one,  even  in  the 
next  world.  To  remove  such  doubts  and  difiiculties  from 
men  honestly  inquiring  after  truth,  the  apostle's  argument  is 
in  point. 

The  cherished  idea  that  the  resurrection  will  restore  those 
mutual  ties  and  friendships  which  now  make  the  society  of 
this  world  delightful  to  us,  but  which  wdll  be  severed  by 
death,  is  probably  the  greatest  difiiculty  w^e  have  in  giving 
up  these  present  bodies,  in  which  we  have  known  and  loved 
our  earthly  friends,  for  bodies  of  wiiich  w^e  are  not  able  to 
form  any  conception.  The  impression  which  such  a  change 
makes  upon  us  is,  that  with  these  new  bodies  we  should  be 
estranged  from  one  another,  and  the  ten  thousand  incidents 
of  the  ha])py  hours  of  life  in  this  world  would  be  lost,  and 
with  them  nmch  of  the  happiness  of  the  resurrection  state 
■would  be  lost. 

No  doubt,  the  happiness  of  heaven,  with  a  great  many  very 
good  Christians,  has  Ijeen  too  much  mixed  up  with  scenes  and 
occurrences  of  the  present  life — too  much  earth  has  been  car- 
ried to  heaven  in  our  thoughts  to  be  used  in  making  up  its 
felicities.     But  let  these  pass  with  one  remark  :  it  will  be 


CHAPTER  XX.  251 

impossible  to  lesson  our  ha})i)iiiess  by  any  oxcliiinge  we  may 
make  of  eartlily  tiling's  for  those  that  are  heavenly. 

The  second  branch  of  the  apostle's  argument  is  addressed 
to  those  who  hold  the  opinion  that  the  present  body  would 
rise  again  ;  and  their  difficulty  in  believing  in  any  other  resur- 
rection is  expressed  in  the  question  they  ask.  Their  question 
may  be  paraphrazed  thus  :  "  If  the  present  body  is  not  raised 
"  again,  how  are  the  dead  raised  up,  and  with  what  body  do 
**  they  come  ?" 

The  apostle  meets  the  inquiry  with  an  expression  which,  in 
our  language,  would  hardly  be  civil,  and  certainly  not  courte- 
ous. But  this  polished  and  refined  embassador  of  Christ 
meant  nothing  offensive  in  the  use  of  the  term  fool.  Thoiu 
fool,  (he  said,  but  the  understood  meaning  of  the  word,  when 
he  spoke  it,  was  simply  the  want  of  an  understanding,)  thou 
dost  not  understand  this  subject.  I  will  illustrate  it  by  things 
natural  and  familiar.  Then  he  goes  on  to  show  the  process 
of  vegetation — the  gay  and  fragrant  flowers  we  so  much  ad- 
mire, the  rich  and  luxurious  fields  that  wave  their  golden  har- 
vests and  bless  the  husbandman  with  an  abundant  reward  for 
his  toil.  None  of  these,  he  says,  are  the  body  thou  sowed. 
That  body,  or  seed  which  thou  sowest  dies  and  goes  to  cor- 
ruption ;  but  that  which  thou  seest  is  a  body  that  God 
giveth  it :  the  beauty,  variety,  and  excellence,  which  rise 
from  the  small  seed  cast  into  the  earth,  while  it  shows  the 
miraculous  power  of  God,  who  gives  it  this  body,  is  at  the 
«;ame  time  a  fit  illustration  of  the  superior  excellence  and  glory 
of  the  resurrection  body  over  the  decaying  and  corrupt  body 
of  man's  mortality. 

The  apostle  then  proceeds,  by  a  series  of  antitheses,  to 
show  that  the  resurrection  body  is  not  tliat  body  in  which 
the  saints  shall  appear  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 

The  term  raised,  as  used  by  the  apostle,  has  a  wrong  appli- 
cation given  to  it  by  literal  resurrectionists.  They  hold  thai 
this  new  body  must  come  out  of  the  grave,  because  the  apos- 
tle says,  it  is  sown  a  natural  body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body. 


252  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

&:c,  ;  and  they  conclude  that,  of  necessity,  the  same  body 
that  was  sown  must  be  the  body  that  is  raised,  with  some 
slight  changes  or  modifications.  But  this  is  entirely  opposed 
to  the  illustration  he  has  given  from  the  process  of  vegeta- 
tion. The  seed,  he  says,  that  was  cast  in  the  earth,  died, 
was  decomposed,  and  resolved  into  separate  elements,  and 
was  no  longer  a  seed  or  body.  It  did  not  come  up  above 
ground  again,  and  then  undergo  the  changes  and  modifications 
which  produced  the  splendid  flower  or  the  nutritious  wheat, 
&c.,  with  all  the  rich  variety  of  forms  and  colors  with  which 
they  are  adorned. 

The  apostle  gives  a  rapid  sketch  of  the  difference  between 
the  two  bodies  :  It  is  sown  in  corru/ption,  it  is  raised  in  incor- 
ruption  ;  it  is  sown  in  dishonor,  it  is  raised  in  glory  ;  it  is  sown 
in  weakness,  it  is  raised  in  porcer  ;  it  is  sown  a  natural  body,  if 
is  raised  a  spiritual  body. 

The  terms  sown  and  raised  are  to  be  regarded  as  terms  of 
accommodation  adapted  to  our  present  views  and  feelings  re- 
lative to  the  death  of  the  body. 

But  if  we  clothe  the  true  meaning  of  the  apostle  in  terms 
appropriate,  his  language  would  be  :  *'  The  body  of  man  dies 
"  and  goes  to  corruption  ;  but  the  same  conscious,  intelligent 
"  being,  shall  appear  in  glory  with  Christ  in  an  incorruptible 
"  body.  His  body,  in  this  life,  is  dishonored  by  loathsome 
"  disease,  becomes  offensive  and  disgusting  to  his  best  friends 
"  so  soon  as^death  fastens  upon  it ;  but  in  the  next  world  he 
"  will  appear  in  a  glorious  body,  never  to  be  touched  by  dis- 
"  ease  or  death.  It  is  here  a  feeble  body,  its  strength  last- 
"  ing  but  a  few  days,  and  his  childhood  and  old  age  mere 
"  weakness — a  mere  natural  body,  and  as  such,  subject  to 
"  the  wastes  and  decays  common  to  natural  things  ;  but 
"  when  he  a})pears  in  his  next  state,  to  reign  with  Christ  a 
"  thousand  years,  he  will  have  a  spiritual  body,  and  will  be 
"  as  the  angels  ;  he  will  live  in  undying  vigor,  and  flourish 
"  in  immortal  youth." 

Such  is  the  difference  between  the  body  in  which  we  now 


CHAPTER  XX.  253 

dwell  and  that  we  are  to  have  in  the  day  of  Christ's  appear 
ing. 

Looking  at  the  two  states  as  the  apostle  has  contrasted 
them  to  our  view,  we  lament  the  idle  fictions  with  which 
poetry  has  distorted  the  sublime  and  giorious  scenes  of  tlie 
resurrection. 

A  certain  poet  has  entertained  his  readers  with  a  flight  of 
different  members  of  the  human  body,  whirling  through  the 
air,  or  dragging  themselves  over  battle-fields,  looking  for  their 
fellow-members — the  head  looking  for  the  body,  the  body 
looking  for  its  limbs,  and  the  limbs  looking  for  each  other. 
How  shockingly  have  men  trifled  with  the  word  of  God,  and 
clothed  revelation  and  Christianity  with  an  attire  the  most 
absurd  and  ridiculous  ! 

There  are  yet  some  other  views  of  the  resurrection  given 
by  the  apostle  in  this  wonderful  chapter  to  the  Corinthian 
Church,  which  I -will  just  add  by  way  of  completing  the  ar- 
gument. 

He  says  :  There  is  a  natural  body  ami  there  is  a  spiritual 
tody.  Adam  illustrates  the  natural  body  and  Christ  the 
spiritual.  The  first  man  Adam  was  made  a  living  soul,  the  last 
Adam  was  made  a  quickening  spirit.  He  then  gives  the  order 
in  which  the  two  stand  :  Howheit  that  was  'not  first  which  is 
spiritual,  hut  that  which  is  natural  ;  and  afterward  that  which 
is  spiritual.  He  is  now  showing  the  two  states  of  man's  ex- 
istence on  the  earth.  The  first  man  is  of  the  earth,  earthy — 
that  is,  Adam,  from  whom  we  derive  our  present  mortal  body. 
The  second  man  is  the  Lord  from  heaven — that  is  Christ,  who 
came  down  from  heaven.  As  is  the  earthy,  such  are  they  also 
that  are  earthy ;  and  as  is  the  heavenly,  such  are  [or  will  be] 
they  also  that  are  heavenly.  Now  the  conclusion — And  as  we 
have  borne  the  image  of  the  earthy  [in  our  present  state  of 
mortality]  we  shall  also  bear  the  image  of  the  heavenly;  in  our 
next  state.  And  he  concludes  the  whole  with  this  declara- 
tion :  JVow  this  I  say  bretliren — that  fiesh  and  blood  mnnot 
inherit  the  kingdom  of  God.     This  corruptible  matter  of  which 


254  THE  APOCALYPSE  UXVEILED. 

our  present  bodies  are  composed — oiir  earthy  nature,  never 
can  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  the  Lord  from  heaven. 
We  shall  leave  these  in  the  dust  of  the  earth  whence  they 
came,  and  enter  the  kingdom  of  God  with  bodies  spiritual, 
powerful,  glorious  and  immortal,  like  unto  the  glorious  body 
of  the  Lord  from  heaven. 

I  have  said  that  the  resurrection  is  a  change  in  the  mode 
of  man's  existence,  and  death  is  not  necessary  to  this  change. 
Tiie  resurrection  state  will  be  entered  by  multitudes  who  had 
not  known  death.  This  is  established  by  another  disclosure 
which  the  apostle  makes  to  the  whole  church — Behold,  he 
says,  /  show  you  a  mystery!  We  shall  not  all  sleep.  All 
Christians  wull  not  have  died,  and  be  sleeping  in  their  graves 
when  this  appearing  of  Christ  shall  take  place.  But  we  shall 
all  be  changed !  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the 
last  trump  ;  for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  he 
raised  [or  appear]  incorruptible,  and  ice  shall  be  changed — 
shall  be  brought  into  the  same  incorruptible  state  without 
passing  through  death.  For  this  corruptible — [those  that 
are  dead]  must  put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  [the  living] 
must  put  on  immortality.  This  change  conforms  us  to  the  like- 
ness of  the  glorious  body  of  the  Lord  from  heaven;  and  this  is 
the  resurrection.  Job  does  not  contradict  the  views  I  have 
expressed  on  this  subject,  when  he  says — In  my  flesh  I  shall 
see  God — if  his  meaning  is  properly  taken.     Job,  19th  chap. 

Job  was  an  instance  of  that  light,  which  through  succes- 
sive ages  of  the  world  has  now  and  then  flashed*  upon  the 
darkness  of  its  moral  night,  arresting  the  low  and  sensual 
current  of  men's  thoughts,  and  giving  them  a  heavenly  direc- 
tion. He  lived  in  a  day  of  small  revelation,  and  of  imper- 
fect views  of  the  providential  dealings  of  God  with  men.  The 
well-meant,  but  inai)plicable  counsel  of  his  three  friends  shows 
this  to  have  been  the  true  state  of  religious  knowledge,  even 
amongst  the  l)est  of  his  cotemporaries. 

The  history  of  Job  is  a  volume  of  instruction.  There  is  a 
moral  grandeur  in  it  which  distinguishes  him  amongst  the 


CHAPTER  XX.  255 

men  of  that  far-off  day.  We  sec  liim  tlirown  Riifldciily  from 
the  higliest  state  of  wordly  prospi^rity  into  abject  poverty  ; 
his  health  gone  and  his  body  wasted  and  sliattered  l)y  con- 
suming and  tormenting  disease.  Tlie  ease  and  splendor  which 
attended  oriental  wealth,  were  exchanged  for  the  gri(!f  and 
destitution  implied  by  sitting  in  tlie  ashes.  And,  in  place  of 
the  affection  and  sympathy  which  usually  consecrate  the 
couch  of  the  sick  husband  ;  and,  instead  of  the  tear  of  sorrow, 
which  in  silent  eloquence  responds  to  the  groan  of  the  sufferer, 
he  hears  the  rough  tones  of  impatience  and  peevishness  from 
her  who  had  been  the  glory  of  his  house  and  the  light  of  his 
heart — Curse  God  and  die.! 

His  three  friends,  in  their  religious  zeal,  wholly  mistaking 
his  case,  harass  his  righteous  soul  by  pressing  upon  him  in- 
applicable truths.  With  inimitable  patience  he  hears  their 
lectures,  and  modestly  points  out  their  error.  But  they  are 
not  convinced  that  their  wisdom  is  at  fault,  and  redoubling 
their  efforts,  they  urge  guilt  upon  the  patient  sufferer — with 
the  intimation  that  he  was  a  dissembler  ;  and,  although  he 
had  concealed  his  crimes  from  man,  yet  he  could  not  deceive 
God,  whose  judgments  had  arrested  him  for  them. 

Stung  by  these  cruel  insinuations,  and  despairing  of  con- 
vincing them  that  they  were  ignorant  of  his  moral  condition; 
his  righteous  soul,  swelling  with  pious  indignation  at  the  un- 
kind treatment  of  his  friends,  and  forgetting  the  pains  of  his 
body  in  the  keener  pains  of  his  wounded  spirit,  he  exclaims  : 
You  treat  me  cmelly,  you  falsely  impeach  my  integrity;  hut  I 
know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that  he  shall  stand  at  the 
latter  day  upon  this  earth.  And  though  after  my  skin,  worms 
destroy  this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God. 

In  this  expression,  uttered  by  Job,  under  circumstances 
of  extraordinary  trial,  we  see  his  entire  behef  in  the  future 
state  ;  and  that  in  the  day  when  there  will  be  no  mistake 
about  character,  he  will  stand  justified  before  his  Redeemer. 
Although  this  body  will  become  the  food  of  worms,  and 
will  pass  into  corruption,  yet  with  my  present  consciousness 


256  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

of  what  I  am,  7  shall  see  God !  That  was  knowing  enough 
and  savini?  enougli  for  the  occasion. 

No  revelation  had  been  made  before  the  days  of  the  apos- 
tles, as  to  the  body  in  which  the  saints  will  appear  in  glory. 
Job,  not  having  any  special  revelation  on  this  subject,  as  the 
apostles  had,  long  after  his  day,  employed  such  language  in 
expressing  his  faith  in  a  future  life  as  was  consistent  with 
the  imperfect  views  of  his  time. 

Jol)  had  just  uttered  the  decree  of  nature's  law,  as  applic- 
able to  all  flesh — Dust  thou  art  and  unto  dust  shall  thou  re- 
turn— the  worm  and  corruption  shall  consume  this  body  ; 
yet,  he  says  :  in  my  flesh  I  shall  see  God.  Reason  and 
revelation  both  suggest  the  meaning  of  Job  to  be — yet  in  a 
suitable  body  ;  with  a  full  consciousness  of  my  individual 
nature  and  being,  I  shall  see  God. 

As  before  said,  it  was  not  revealed  in  the  days  of  Job 
what  body  the  saints  should  wear  in  the  resurrection  state. 
That  was  reserved  for  the  light  of  the  gospel  day.  Life 
and  immortality  are  brought  to  light  by  the  gospel.  What 
was  darkly,  or  but  dimly  seen  on  this  subject  in  former 
times,  is  now  made  luminous.  Hence  we  do  not  hear  the 
apostles  in  their  day  speaking  as  Job  did,  in  vague  and 
uncertain  terms,  as  to  what  the  body  of  the  saints  will  be 
in  the  resurrection  ;  they  boldly  declare  the  truths  of  a  later 
revelation — Flesh  and  blood  [or  this  mortal  body]  ca7inot 
inherit  the  hingdom  of  God.  We  shall  be  lihe  him,  for  we  shall 
see  him  as  he  is.  He  shall  change  our  vile  body  that  it  may  be 
fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body.  Our  vile  body  shall  be 
exchanged  for  a  glorious  body  like  unto  his. 

The  resurrection  of  the  dead,  is  the  common  scripture 
phrase  ;  l)ut  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  is  a  term  not  used 
by  our  Lord  or  his  apostles.  The  apostle,  in  the  argument 
addressed  to  the  Corinthian  Church,  speaking  of  the  resur- 
rection, does  once  use  the  word  body;  but  he  qualifies  it 
by  saying,  it  is  a  spiritual  body — It  is  sown  a  natural  body, 
it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body. 


CHAPTKR  XX.  257 

The  sense  in  which  the  apostle  should  he  understood  in  this 
argument  is,  that  he  is  speaking  of  mankind  as  an  order  of 
boiiigs,  existing  in  a  mortal  l)ody,  ada})tod  to  its  present  state; 
and  that  this  body  is  constantly  falling  to  the  earth  by  death, 
as  the  seed  is  sown  broadcast  upon  the  ground.  Thus,  he 
says  :  it  is  sown  in  corruption — it  is  sown  in  dishonor — it  is 
sown  in  weakness — it  is  sown  a  natural  body.  These  are 
the  characteristics  of  the  being  in  his  present  mortal  state, 
but  when  he  appears  in  his  immortal  state,  the  body  he  will 
then  wear  will  be  incorruptible — glorious,  powerful,  and 
spiritual.  It  will  not  be  the  present  body,  reconstructed  and 
remodelled  ;  it  will  not  be  the  material  of  the  present  body 
converted  into  spirit  ;  but  it  will  be  a  new  creation,  as  dif- 
ferent from  this  body  as  the  Lord  from  heaven  differs  from 
the  first  man  who  was  of  the  earth,  earthy.  As  God  giveth 
to  the  seed  a  body  of  beauty  and  richness,  and  fragrance, 
that  made  no  part  in  the  seed  that  was  cast  into  the  earth,  so 
will  he  give  to  man  in  his  resurrection  state,  a  body — incor- 
ruptible, spiritual  and  glorious. 

It  will  be  objected  to  this  view,  that  it  does  not  harmonise 
with  the  words  of  our  Savior,  speaking  of  the  resurrection 
in  St.  John,  5  chap.  :  28  :  Marvel  not  at  fJtis,  for  the  hour  is 
coviiiig  in  the  which  all  that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  his 
voice,  and  shall  come  forth.  But  if  we  limit  this  coming  forth 
of  the  dead  to  those  who  are  in  the  graves,  how  many  mil- 
lions of  human  beings  will  not  come  forth  ?  because  they 
never  were  in  graves  !  Millions  that  have  been  destroyed 
by  fire,  or  by  water,  or  devoured  by  beasts  and  birds  of  prey, 
must  be  overlooked,  if  only  those  in  the  graves  are  to  hear 
this  voice  and  come  forth. 

There  is  no  way  of  avoiding  this  difficulty,  if  we  insist  upon 
a  rigid  literal  construction  of  the  words  of  our  Savior.  It 
is  evident  that  we  are  to  understand  the  grave  to  mean  all 
who  are  under  death,  no  matter  how  they  ended  their  mortal 
existence  ;  whether  they  were  borne  to  the  tomb  in  funeral 
pomp,  or  perished  in  the  solitary  wilderness — their  spirits 


258  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

live  ;  and  at  the  appointed  time,  when  that  mighty  voice 
will  call  this  earth  into  its  new  state,  shall  be  heard,  these 
will  come  forth  in  their  resurrection  bodies,  incorruptible  and 
inmiortal. 

The  millennial  reign  of  Christ,  I  have  said,  will  give  to 
man  a  perfection  which  he  cannot  reach  in  his  mortal  state. 
It  is  in  that  kingdom  of  God  that  the  spirits  of  the  just  will 
be  mode  perfect.  Perfection  is  frequently  spoken  of  in  con- 
nection with  the  present  life  of  man  ;  but  we  must  under- 
stand the  term  when  so  used,  as  implying  a  perfection  only 
in  the  man's  aims,  desires  and  purposes  to  glorify  God.  Here 
is  an  instance  :  Let  us  therefore,  as  many  as  be  perfect,  be  thus 
minded.  The  apostle,  in  a  few  verses  preceding,  says  :  Not 
as  though  I  had  already  attained,  either  ivere  already  perfect. 
Here  are  two  kinds  of  perfection — one  belonging  to  the  man 
in  his  present  state  and  the  other  only  to  be  attained  in  the 
possession  of  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus.  This  high  calling  is  the  grand  end  of  the  Christian's 
calling — that  is,  eternal  life  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Only  the  righteous  will  be  the  subjects  of  the  first  resur- 
rection. This  is  manifest  from  what  has  been  said  of  the 
kingdom  of  God.  The  prophet  says  :  This  is  the  first  resur- 
rection ;  blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the  first 
resurrection. 

This  is  fully  taught  by  Christ  and  his  apostles  in  numerous 
texts  of  the  Christian  Scriptures,  only  a  few  of  which  I  shall 
adduce. 

In  Luke,  20th  chap. :  35,  36  verses,  are  these  words  of 
our  Lord,  spoken  to  the  Sadducees  :  The  children  of  this 
world  marry,  and  are  given  in  marriagQ.  But  they  which  shall 
be  accounted  worthy  to  obtain  that  world,  and  the  resurrection 
from  the  dead,  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in  marriage. 
Neither  can  they  die  any  more,  for  they  are  equal  unto  the  an- 
gels and  are  the  children  of  God,  being  the  children  of  the 
resurrection. 

1st  Corinth.  15th  chap,  :  22,  23  :  For  as  in  Adam  ail  die, 


CHAPTER  XX.  259 

even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  he  made  alive.  But  every  man  in  his 
own  order ;  Christ  the  first  fruits,  aftcncards,  they  that  are 
Chrisfs  at  his  coming. 

Luke  14  :  14  :  But  when  thou  makest  a  feast^call  the  jmor, 
the  maimed,  the  lame,  the  blind,  and  than  shall  he  blessed,  for 
they  cannot  recompense  thee,  for  thou  shall  be  recompensed  at  the 
resurrection  of  the  just. 

1st  Tliess.  4  :  14  :  For  if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and 
rose  again,  even  so,  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God 
bring  with  him.  *  *  *  pgy  ^^g  Lord  himself  shall  de- 
scend from  heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel, 
and  with  the  trump  of  God  ;  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise 
first. 

The  first  text,  beyond  any  possibility  of  doubt,  limits  the 
resurrection  to  the  children  of  God — those  who  will'  be  ac- 
counted worthy  of  that  world,  by  their  faith  and  holy  lives 
in  this  world.  If  the  ungodly  were  partakers  of  this  first 
resurrection,  there  would  be  no  meaning  in  calling  the  righte- 
ous the  children  of  the  resurrection,  as  the  ungodly  would  be 
equally  with  them,  the  children  of  the  resurrection.  Again, 
our  Lord  calls  it  the  resurrection  of  the  just,  manifestly  dis- 
tinguishing it  from  the  resurrection  of  the  unjust,  which,  we 
are  told  by  the  prophet  will  not  take  place  until  the  end  of 
the  thousand  years. 

Following  their  Lord,  the  apostles  also  preserve  the  dis- 
tinction which  will  mark  the  first  resurrection — the  com- 
mencement of  the  millennium  age  ;  and  speak  of  it  as  the 
resurrection  of  the  righteous  only,  St.  Paul  speaks  of  the 
order  in  which  the  resurrection  will  proceed.  Christ  had 
risen  before  the  apostle  wrote  this  epistle.  Christ,  he  says, 
the  first  fruits.  The  next  in  the  order  of  the  resurrection 
will  be  those,  who  are  Chrisfs,  at  his  coming,  according  to 
the  saying  of  the  apostle  to  the  Colossians  :  For  ye  are  dead, 
and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God.  JVhen  Christ  who 
is  our  life  shall  appear,  then  shall  ye  also  appear  with  him  in 
glory. 


260  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

How  shall  these  texts  be  reconciled  with  the  opinion,  that 
all  the  dead  are  to  rise  at  the  coming  of  Christ  ?  Such 
an  opinion  must  ever  clash  with  the  instructions  that  are 
given  by  our  Lord  and  his  apostles  on  that  subject.  But 
with  some,  the  difficulty  is  overcome  by  supposing  that  Christ 
will  bestow  distinction  and  glory  upon  his  servants,  by  giving 
them  a  priority  in  the  resurrection  ;  and  they  support  this 
opinion  by  the  words  of  St.  Paul  :  The  dead  in  Christ  shall 
rise  first ;  and  then  will  follow,  immediately,  they  say,  the 
resurrection  of  all  the  remaining  dead. 

But  they  mistake  the  meaning  of  the  apostle  in  this  ex- 
pression :  T/ie  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first — the  text  will 
best  interpret  his  meaning.  1st  Thess.  4th  chap.  The  apos- 
tle is  describing  in  this  chapter,  the  grandeur  of  the  scene, 
when  Christ  shall  appear  and  receive  to  his  presence  and  to 
a  participation  in  his  glory,  all  who  had  been  washed  in  his 
atoning  blood  ;  those  who  then  will  be  dwellers  on  earth 
as  well  as  those  who  had  died  in  the  faith  from  the  beginning 
of  the  gospel  day.  He  says  :  For  the  Lord  himself  shall  de- 
scend from  heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel, 
and  with  the  trump  of  God.  This  sets  forth  the  august  ma- 
jesty with  which  the  Lord  will  make  his  second  appearance 
on  the  earth.  He  adds,  at  the  end  of  this  description — the 
dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first.  He  had  said  in  the  fifteenth 
verse  :  For  this  we  say  unto  you  by  the  ivord  of  the  Lord,  that 
v:e  which  are  alive  and  remain  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord  shall 
not  prevent  them  which  are  asleep.  But  those  who  had  de- 
parted this  life  before  the  coming  of  Christ — the  dead  in 
Christ ;  shall  rise  first — then  we  which  remain  in  life,  and 
are  in  the  body  at  the  time  of  this  glorious  appearing,  shall 
be  changed,  and  shall  be  caught  up  together  icith  them,  in 
the  clouds  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air  ;  and  so  shall  tve  ever 
be  with  the  Lord. 

In  Dr.  Adam  Clarke's  note  on  this  text,  he  rays,  the  word 
which  is  translated  prevent  literally  signifies  to  go  before.  The 
plain  meaning  of  the  apostle  is  :   that  those  Christians  who 


CHAPTER  XX.  2C1 

will  be  living  on  the  earth  when  Christ  sliall  appear  tlie 
second  time,  will  not  enter  into  the  joys  of  our  Lord  l)efore 
those  who  were  asleep,  or  dead — but  that  these  shall  rise 
first,  or  reappear,  and  then  all  will  ascend  to  meet  the  Lord 
in  the  air. 

When  the  apostle  says,  We,  which  arc  alive,  and  remain 
unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  he  evidently  did  not  mean  him- 
self individually,  for  he  has  been  dead  more  than  seventeen 
hundred  years,  and  the  coming  of  the  Lord  referred  to  by 
him  has  not  transpired  yet.  It  was  a  common  mode  of  ex- 
pression with  the  apostles  ;  for  although  they  wrote  their 
epistles  to  particular  churches,  much  of  what  they  said  is  ap- 
plicable to  other  times,  and  to  Christians,  in  their  individual 
and  social  state,  in  ages  to  come.  But  on  the  sul)ject  of  this 
distinct  and  separate  resurrection  of  the  righteous,  it  will  be 
asked  by  some,  does  not  Scripture  declare  that  there  is  to  be 
a  resurrection  of  the  just  and  the  unjust  ?  Undoubtedly  it 
does  ;  but  we  are  not  told  that  the  resurrection  of  these  two 
opposite  characters  is  to  take  place  at  the  same  time.  Tliis 
is  nowhere  intimated,  either  by  our  Lord  or  any  one  of  his 
apostles  ;  but  to  the  contrary,  the  resurrection  of  the  inijust 
is  placed,  in  the  Revelation,  at  the  end  of  the  thousand  years' 
reign  of  Christ  with  his  saints.  Why  this  great  space  should 
separate  the  resurrection  of  the  just  and  the  unjust,  proba- 
bly will  only  be  understood  by  those  who  will  have  a  part  in 
the  first  resurrection. 

If,  as  has  been  said,  we  are  now  living  in  a  state  of  heaven 
and  earth,  which  l^ears  some  resemblance  to  the  next,  or  new 
heaven  ai;d  earth,  in  what  will  the  difi'erence  between  the 
two  states  consist  ? 

This  is  a  question  which  it  would  be  great  presumption  in 
me  to  attempt  fully  to  answer  ;  and  in  the  feeble  attempt  I 
shall  make  to  institute  a  comparison  between  the  two,  I  feel 
an  awe  and  reverence,  such  as  that  which  must  have  aftected 
Moses  when  God  spoke  to  him  out  of  the  burning  bush  :  Fut 


262  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

of  thv  shoes  from  off  thy  feet,  for  the  place  whereon  thou  standest 
is  holy  ground. 

In  the  first  place  I  would  say,  that  the  earth  will  be,  in  its 
renovated  state,  as  different  from  its  present  condition  as  its 
present  condition  is  from  its  first  creation,  icheii  all  the  morn- 
intr  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy  ; 
when  all  creation  shone  in  universal  perfection.  Whatever 
the  fall  of  man  has  introduced,  as  a  consequence  of  sin,  into 
the  present  earth,  will  be  wholly  unknown  to  the  dwellers  in 
the  earth.  In  a  word,  and  that  must  suffice  on  the  subject  of 
the  physical  order  of  the  earth,  everything  that  will  be  in 
that  earth  will  minister  to  the  happiness  of  man. 

Man  will  still  be  man  in  that  state,  having  the  same  iden- 
tity of  being  and  self-consciousness  that  he  possesses  in  the 
present  life.  But  his  bodily  organization  is  to  be  wholly  dif- 
ferent. In  this  respect  he  will  be  equal  to  the  angels,  and 
be  like  his  Lord.  This  resemblance  between  the  powers  of 
the  body  of  man  in  that  state  and  the  powers  of  the  body  of 
Christ,  is  seen  in  the  ascension  of  our  Lord  when  he  left  this 
earth,  and  the  ascension  of  all  in  the  first  resurrection,  when 
the  whole  church  of  the  redeem^ed  shall  be  caught  up  toge- 
ther in  the  clouds  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air. 

His  appetites  are  now  earthly  and  sensual,  and  he  is  de- 
pendent for  their  gratification  upon  the  very  imperfect  and 
often  much  disordered  state  of  his  bodily  senses  ;  but  in  the 
new  earth  his  appetites  will  be  refined  and  spiritualized,  and 
his  bodily  senses  will  have  a  corresponding  improvement,  and 
will  constantly  minister  to  his  pure  and  lofty  pleasures.  He 
will  not  then  be  dependent  upon  those  senses  which  now  form 
the  imperfect  channels  of  intercourse  between  his  spirit  and 
the  world  around  him;  he  will  not  then  realize  things  through 
these  dark  glasses.  The  spiritual  body  will  have  spiritual 
senses  adapted  to  the  free  and  unembarrassed  action  of  the 
soul  in  the  constant  and  ever-renewing  developments  of  its 
immortal  energies. 


CHAPTER  XX.  263 

Thus  far  we  arc  carried  in  our  views  by  the  instruction  of 
holy  men  of  God,  who  have  spoken  for  our  edification  as  they 
were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

But  the  question  suggests  itself  to  the  mind  of  every  one 
whose  hope  is  full  of  the  pros})ect  of  that  immortal  state, 
what  will  be  the  employments  and  enjoyments  of  that  glorious 
state  ?  When  that  question  is  asked  I  am  silent;  and  turn- 
ing to  the  venerable  apostle  who  has  been  taken  into  that 
third  heaven,  I  ask  him  to  answer  it.  Hear  his  answer  : 
Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the 
heart  of  man,  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that 
love  him.  Here  the  feeble  effort  to  contrast  the  future  with 
the  present  state  must  cease,  and  I  drop  the  subject,  with  this 
one  delightful  reflection,  however  :  there  we  shall  meet  with 
Christ  again,  not  as  he  was  when  upon  this  earth,  but  in  all 
the  fullness  of  his  glory,  and  we  shall  be  forever  witli  him. 

Christ  has  directed  the  hope  and  the  heart  of  his  church 
to  that  glorious  mansion  as  the  place  where  he  will  receive 
his  people  to  himself,  and  where  he  will  celebrate  with  them 
the  triumphs  and  glories  of  the  church,  redeemed  and  saved 
by  his  atoning  blood.  /  will  drink  it  anew  with  you  in  my 
Father^  kingdom. 

The  employment  of  men  here  is  in  securing  those  things 
that  minister  to  the  necessities  and  pleasures  of  sense;  but 
in  the  next  world  the  spiritual  and  intellectual  cultivation  of 
his  regenerated  nature  will  open  to  him  exhaustless  and  in- 
finitely varied  sources  of  happiness. 

In  the  last  familiar  conversation  that  our  Savior  held  with 
his  disciples  before  his  crucifixion,  (John  xvi.,)  there  is  this 
remarkable  saying  amongst  others  :  These  things  have  I  spoken 
to  you  in  proverbs,  [or  parables,]  hut  the  time  cometh  when  I 
shall  no  more  speak  unto  you  in  proverbs,  but  I  will  show  you 
plainly  of  the  Father — (verse  25.) 

There  is  a  world  of  meaning  in  these  words.  "  I  teach  you 
"  the  gospel  in  parables,  because  your  limited  capacities  re- 
"  quired  the  aid  of  such  sensible  and  familiar  objects  to  enable 


2(54  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

"  you  to  comprehend  my  spiritual  meaning.  But  tlie  time  will 
"  come,  when  I  shall  see  you  again,  when  I  will  come  again  to 
"  receive  you  to  myself  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  Then  your 
"  spiritual  cultivation  will  not  be  interrupted  by  the  clogs  of 
"  mortality,  and  the  dim  lights  of  your  present  bodily  senses  ; 
"  you  will  not  then  require  the  use  of  parables  to  give  you  an 
"  understanding  of  ray  words  ;  your  spiritual  perceptions  in 
"  that  kingdom  will  readily  comprehend  the  great  lessons 
"  that  I  will  teach  you,  when  I  shall  shew  you  plainly  of  the 
"  Father:' 

"  The  eternity  of  God  !  the  glory  and  harmony  of  his 
"  divine  attributes — the  endless  variety  and  infinite  extent  of 
"  the  thrones,  powers,  and  dominions,  which  give  grandeur 
"  to  the  boundless  universe  he  has  created  ;  and  the  laws 
"  that  govern  and  harmonize  the  whole  will  be  the  subjects 
"  that  will  employ  and  give  felicity  to  your  redeemed  and 
*'  glorified  nature  for  ever." 

The  thousand  years'  reign  of  Christ  with  his  saints  upon 
the  earth,  is  clearly  a  preparation  state,  just  as  the  present 
Christian  dispensation  is  a  preparatory  state  for  that  reign. 
I  have  said  before  that  man  does  not  attain  his  perfection 
under  the  gospel  dispensation  ;  he  only  acquires  a  prepara- 
tion for  the  higher  school  of  divine  instruction.  Our  moral 
and  spiritual  training  in  the  present  life  must  necessarily  be 
very  imperfect,  because  its  government  and  discipline,  as 
well  as  its  doctrines,  have  to  struggle  with  the  prejudice,  the 
bigotry,  and  the  ignorance  of  men.  This  is  seen,  more  or 
less  in  the  dififerent  creeds  and  services  of  different  churches, 
and  these  frailties  attach  to  every  denominational  system,  no 
matter  how  sincere  and  upright  the  aims  of  the  institution 
raay  be. 

The  question  will  be  asked  :  If  the  righteous  dead  are 
gone  to  their  reward,  what  will  they  have  to  do  with  this 
future  state  of  spiritual  training?  Tiiis  question  is  answered 
by  saying,  that  men  do  not  step  out  of  this  state  of  error  and 
ignorance,  at  death,  into  that  state  of  perfection  and  glory 


CHAPTER  XX.  265 

which  they  are  ulthiiately  to  occu})y  ;  l)ut  tlicy  enter  upon 
just  such  a  state  of  ha})piiiess  as  accords  with  the  dispensa- 
tion under  which  they  lived  and  the  spiritual  attainments 
made  by  them  under  that  dispensation. 

Abraham's  bosom  expressed,  figuratively,  the  state  to 
wiiich  the  Jews  referred  as  the  soul's  rest.  The  society  of 
Abraham  after  death,  was  the  highest  reward  to  which  they 
aspired.  Bat  the  Christian  economy  points  its  sul)jects  to 
the  presence  and  companionship  of  Christ  in  the  next  world. 
The  earlier  and  darker  dispensations  had  still  lower  views  of 
the  happiness  and  glory  of  the  future  state  than  those  enter- 
tained by  the  Jews,  and  they  were  consequently  qualified 
only  for  an  inferior  station  in  the  world  of  spirits. 

Does  not  the  apostle  express  similar  views  when  he  is  dis- 
coursing of  the  resurrection,  in  1st  Cor.  15  :  41  :  He  says — 
There  is  one  glory  of  the  sun — that  is  the  Christian  dispensation ; 
another  glory  of  the  moon — the  Jewish  dispensation  ;  and 
another  glory  of  the  stars — the  days  of  the  Abraham,  and 
Isaac  and  Jacob  dispensation  ;  now  he  tells  us  the  use  he 
designs  to  make  of  these  comparisons — For  as  one  star  dif- 
fer eth  from  another  star  in  glory,  so  also  is  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead.  Those  who  have  lived  righteous  before  God  in 
their  different  dispensations,  have  passed  into  a  state  of  rest, 
differing  in  degrees  of  happiness  and  glory,  according  to  their 
different  dispensations. 

It  cannot  be  supposed  that  the  man  who  has  lived  in  the 
midst  of  heathen  idolatry,  or  the  superstition  of  false  systems 
of  religion,  although  he  did  fear  God  and  work  righteousness, 
according  to  the  light  he  had,  and  was  accepted  of  God,  can 
stand  in  the  resurrection  upon  an  equal  footing  with  the  man 
who  had  lived  and  served  God  in  the  gospel  dispensation. 
There  will  be  as  great  a  difference  in  the  moral,  spiritual, 
and  intellectual  character  of  the  two,  as  there  is  between 
the  light  of  the  stars  and  the  light  of  the  sun  ! 

The  millennium  state  will  be  a  dispensation  entirely  free 
from  the  errors  and  ignorance  of  even  the  present  dispensa- 

VOL.  II. — 12 


266  THK  APOCALYPSE  UX VEILED. 

tion.  It  ^Yill  not  be  a  dispensation  connected  with  a  jproha- 
tion;  man  can  never  fall  from  that  state  ;  there  his  happi- 
ness is  his  improvement — and  his  improvement  is  his  happi- 
ness. Unlike  the  present  state,  in  which  we  see  everything 
in  doubt  and  darkness,  and  are  often  unable  to  determine 
whether  what  we  are  learning  is  good  or  evil  :  we  shall  there 
learn  nothing  but  pure  heavenly  wisdom  ;  we  shall  drink  it 
fresh  from  the  fountain  of  eternal  truth,  and  not  from  the 
xlistant  streams  as  we  do  now,  too  often  made  turbid  and 
loathsome  by  the  bigotry,  the  ignorance  and  superstition  of 
different  and  jarring  Christian  systems  as  they  now  exist. 

Those  discordant  opinions  whi€h  different  denominations 
now  hold,  and  urge  with  impetuous  zeal,  producing  strife  and 
animosity,  will  not  be  heard  in  the  millennium  state.  There, 
the  apostle  says,  we  shall  see  eye  to  eye,  and  shall  know 
even  as  we  are  known,  ^o  clashing  views  will  ever  arise  to 
disturb  the  harmony  of  that  state,  nor  will  guile  or  dissimu- 
lation ever  stain  the  purity,  or  deceive  the  confiding  spirits 
that  will  dwell  there. 

The  great  teacher  will  be  Christ  himself,  and  the  great 
subject  to  be  taught,  he  has  told  us,  will  be  the  power,  the 
majesty,  and  eternity  of  God.  I  will  shoio  you  plainly  of  the 
Father. 

The  effects  which  the  teaching  and  cultivation  of  the  mil- 
lennial state  will  have  upon  the  spirits  of  the  redeemed,  are 
referred  to  in  these  words  of  St.  Paul,  (2  Cor.  3  :  18) :  But  we 
all  with  open  face  beholding,  as  in  a  glass,  the  glory  of  the  Lord, 
are  changed  into  the  same  image,  froin  glory  to  glory,  as  by  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord.  This  is  not  the  clouded  or  dark  glass 
through  which  we  see  things  in  this  dispensation,  but  it  is  a 
great  and  pure  mirror,  from  which  is  reflected  the  deep  things 
of  Cod  ;  and  while  we  look  into  the  boundless  regions  of 
spiritual  life  and  glory  which  seem  to  lie  behind  it,  we  re- 
ceive in  our  spirits,  by  its  reflex  power,  the  very  objects  upon 
which  we  gaze,  and  l)ecome  changed,  in  the  same  hnage,  from 
glory  to  glory — a  constantly-increasing  glory  and  h^ji^-uess. 


CHAPTER  XX.  2G7 

All  this  is  necessary  to  prepare  man  for  tlie  niisprakable 
grandenr  of  the  revehition  whicli  is  to  be  made  after  the 
thousand  years  of  Christ's  reign  shall  have  ended.  But  of 
this  I  shall  say  nothing  more.  There  is  another  subject  of 
great  interest  to  which  the  proi)het  makes  no  i)articular  allu- 
sion in  this  vision,  viz.  :  the  conversion  or  spiritual  recovery 
of  the  Jews. 

The  i)rophet  gives  merely  a  general  view  of  the  outward 
appearance  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  lie  does  not  speak  of 
the  particular  employment  of  those  who  will  reign  with  Clirist 
a  thousand  years  in  that  kingdom. 

This  lack  of  information,  however,  is  fully  supplied  l)y 
Christ  himself,  (Matt.  19  :  28):  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  that 
ye  ivhich  have  folloiced  me  in  the  regeneration,  ichen  the  Son  of 
Man  shall  sit  in  the  throne  of  his  glory,  ye  shall  sit  upon  twclre 
thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  Luke  22  :  30  : 
A.7id  I  appoint  unto  you  a  kingdo7n,  as  my  Father  hath  appointed 
unto  me,  that  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  my  table  in  my  kingdom, 
and  sit  on  thrones  judging  the  tivelve  tribes  of  Israel. 

From  these  scriptures  it  is  very  evident  that  the  s})iritual 
recovery  of  the  Jews  will  form  a  part,  at  least,  of  the  eni})k)y- 
ment  of  those  who  will  have  part  in  the  first  resurrection,  of 
whom  the  prophet  says  no  more  than  what  is  contained  in 
part  of  the  fourth  verse  of  this  twentieth  chapter  :  And  I 
saw  thrones,  and  they  sat  upon  them,  and  judgment  was  given 
unto  them. 

I  will  now  speak  of  this  subject  more  at  large. 

CONVERSIOX  OF  THE  JEWS. 

Amongst  all  people  and  nations  where  the  gospel  has  been 
preached  conversions  to  its  doctrines  have  been  more  or  less 
numerous  ;  religious  services  have  been  appointed  and 
churches  raised  up  to  teach  and  preach  the  Ciiristian  reli- 
gion. 

The  Jews  are  an  exception  to  this  remark.  Amongst  thciu 


268  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

Christianity  lias  found  no  favor  to  this  day.  The  gospel  has 
failed  to  make  any  impression  upon  the  Jews  generally,  and 
Individual  conversions  to  its  doctrines  are  extremely  rare. 

Those  few  men  wiio  followed  Christ  in  his  day,  embraced 
his  cause  rather  as  something  new,  than  from  any  conviction 
of  its  truth  or  divine  authenticity.  There  is  not  any  case  of 
conviction  for  sin  and  repentance  toward  God  in  the  history 
of  these  early  followers  of  Christ.  They  neither  understood 
his  divine  mission,  nor  had  they  the  least  apprehension  of  the 
spiritual  regeneration  which  his  religion  was  to  produce  in 
the  heart  of  man. 

But  their  eyes  were  gradually  opened,  and  they  began  to 
perceive,  after  the  crucifixion  of  Christ,  the  spirituality  of  his 
religion. 

The  powerful  effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  day  of  pen- 
tecost,  may  be  taken  as  the  true  commencement  of  the  Chris- 
tian era  ;  when  men  first  began  to  discover  the  application 
of  its  doctrines,  and  first  felt  the  saving  power  of  its  Spirit. 

But  the  gospel,  preached  as  it  w^as  by  the  apostles,  and 
attended  with  miracles,  did  not  produce  conversion  amongst 
the  Jews  to  any  great  extent.  The  force  and  stubbornness 
of  their  national  prejudices,  which  stood  directly  in  the  way 
of  the  spirit  and  design  of  the  gospel,  is  well  illustrated  by 
the  case  of  St.  Peter,  whose  bigotry  and  monopolizing  spirit 
excluded  all  other  people  from  any  participation  in  the  bene- 
fits which  Christianity  proposed  to  mankind. 

To  clear  the  mind  of  Peter  from  those  selfish  principles,  it 
required  the  vision  of  the  great  sheet  let  down  from  heaven, 
containing  all  manner  of  four-footed  beasts  and  creeping 
tilings,  even  after  he  had  preached  the  gospel  for  several 
years.  And  Saul  of  Tarsus  was  converted  from  his  fanati- 
cism and  hatred  of  Christianity  in  a  miraculous  manner,  and 
not  by  the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  If  we  look  at  the  result 
of  missionary  efforts,  we  shall  find  that  in  every  Gentile  soil 
where  the  gospel  seed  has  been  sown,  it  has  taken  root,  and 
sprung  up,  and  brought  forth  fruit,  in  some  countries  thirty 


CHAPTER  XX.  2G:) 

fold,  ill  some  sixty,  and  in  others  a  liuiidred  fold,  lint  wltcu 
the  missionary  goes  to  the  Jews,  he  casts  his  seed  ui)on  the 
rocks,  where  there  is  no  soil  ;  it  takes  no  root,  and  the  con- 
sequence is  there  is  no  fruit  produced. 

The  conclusion,  which  seems  unavoidable,  at  least  to  my 
mind,  is,  that  the  gospel  dispensation  will  not  efl'ect  the  sal- 
vation of  the  Jews.  They  have  cast  it  from  them,  and  by 
tlie  act  of  crucifying  Christ,  they  have  renounced  all  faitii 
and  trust  in  him  as  the  Savior  of  man. 

Their  own  countrymen,  Paul  and  Barnabas,  after  laboring 
zealously  and  suffering  severe  persecution,  in  trying  to  draw 
them  to  Christ,  at  length  gave  them  up,  and  said  :  It  was 
necessary  that  the  word  of  God  should  first  have  been  spoken 
unto  you;  hut  seeing  ye  pnt  it  from  yon,  and  judge  yourselves 
unworthy  of  everlasting  life,  lo !  we  turn  to  the  Gentiles.  Our 
Savior,  in  his  last  warning,  which  he  addressed  to  the  Jews, 
setting  forth  the  consequences  of  his  rejection  as  their  ^les- 
siah,  uses  this  language  :  Behold  !  your  house  is  left  unto  you 
desolate.  For  I  say  unto  you  ye  shall  not  see  me  henceforth, 
till  the  time  come  when  ye  shall  say,  Blessed  is  he  that  comet h  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord.  This  desolation  has  l)een  distinctly 
marked  upon  the  Jewish  history  ever  since  the  destruction  of 
their  city  and  government  by  the  Romans. 

The  Jews  were  the  chosen  people  of  God,  and  were  jealous 
in  all  things  pertaining  to  the  honor  of  God  and  his  wor- 
ship. They  enjoyed  advantages  which  no  other  people  did, 
because  unto  them  were  committed  the  oracles  of  God.  They 
were  jealous  of  his  glory  and  prom})t  in  resenting  any  indig- 
nity of!ered  to  his  name  or  his  worship. 

Their  indignation  was  provoked  at  any  atteni})t  made  to 
lessen  the  glory  of  divine  majesty.  Their  religion  held  to 
the  one  true  God  and  excluded  all  others — Hear,  O  Israel! 
the  Lord  thy  God  is  one  Lord,  was  the  proclamation  of  their 
national  faith,  in  opposition  to  the  religion  of  the  heathen, 
which  had  gods  many  and  lords  many.  Any  })retension  to 
equality  with  God,  or  to  any  closer  relationship  to  him  thau 


270  THE  APOCALYrSK  UXVEILED. 

they  L-liiinicd  to  enjoy  in  virtue  of  tlie  Al)ralian)Ic  covenant, 
"vvas  deemed  by  them,  i)resumptuoiis  and  blasphemous.  It 
was  precisely  ou  this  ground  tliat  they  rejected  Christ.  He 
aune  to  his  own  and  his  own  received  him  not. 

The  nation  was  in  expectation  of  the  Messiah.  Their  own 
pro])hets  had  predicted,  in  glowing  language,  his  appearance, 
and  their  countrymen  believed  implicitly  all  that  their  pro- 
phets said,  as  they  understood  them.  But,  when  the  pro- 
phets spoke  of  the  moral  sublimity  of  his  kingdom,  and  the 
comprehensive  designs  of  his  mercy  in  subduing  all  nations 
to  his  authority  ;  the  Jews  mistook  their  meaning,  and  gave 
a  temporal  application  to  their  words.  They  expected  a 
worldly  prince,  who  should  restore  the  kingdom  of  David, 
and  extend  his  dominion  over  the  earth.  They  looked  for 
all  the  regal  pomp  and  splendor  which  distinguished  the 
throne  of  Solomon.  They  expected  when  their  Messiah 
should  come  that  his  advent  would  be  announced  to  the 
throne  of  the  Caesars,  with  great  pomp  and  ceremony. 

But,  instead  of  all  this,  they  were  told  that  their  Messiah 
had  come  ;  tliat  he  had  his  birth  in  the  town  of  Bethlehem, 
and  not  even  in  the  respectable  state  which  that  small  town 
miglit  Ije  able  to  afford  ;  but  he  was  born  in  a  manger,  and 
the  only  announcement  made  of  his  birth  was  made  to  a  few 
poor  shepherds  as  they  watched  their  flocks  at  night — per- 
hajjs,  amongst  the  poorest  people  of  that  country,  as  their 
occupation  would  imply. 

All  this  appearance  of  poverty  in  the  condition  of  the 
!Mcssiali,  was  so  different  from  the  lofty  expectations  which 
the  Jews  had  entertained  of  the  glory  of  his  appearance, 
that  they  were  mortified  and  confounded,  no  less  than  they 
were  chagrined  and  indignant  at  the  pretensions  of  so  hum- 
ble a  personage  to  the  high  claims  of  Messiahship.  It  was 
in  vain  that  an  appeal  was  made  to  his  miracles  and  his  works 
of  mercy,  in  sup}»ort  of  his  claims,  and  in  vain  was  it  urged 
that  no  nuiu  could  do  such  works  unless  God  was  with  him. 
Tlie  Jews  were  callous  to  all  such  evidence,  and  in  the 


CHAPTER  XX.  271 

nrgoncy  of  their  au^ov  tliey  aeiioanced  Christ  as  an  impostor, 
and  charged  collusion  with  the  devil  in  the  performance  of 
his  miracles.  Every  fresli  evidence  he  gave  of  works  of 
mercy  or  of  miracles,  in  support  of  his  Messiahshij),  only 
served  to  exasperate  them  the  more  ;  until  finally  they  re- 
solved upon  his  death.  Crucify  him  I  crucify  him  !  became 
the  cry  of  the  nation. 

This  was  not  an  ebullition  of  feeling  by  the  vulgar  mol) 
only,  but  it  was  seen  in  men  of  station  and  authority.  The 
most  learned  in  literature  and  in  the  law,  comprehending  the 
wdiole  JcAvish  theology,  were  prominent  in  their  general  op- 
position to  Christ  and  in  procuring  his  death. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  imbittered  zeal  of  Saul  of  Tarsus, 
against  all  who  professed  the  religion  of  Christ,  and  we  liave 
a  true  exhibition  of  the  hostility  of  the  nation  towards  Chris- 
tianity. 

With  feelings  of  such  implacable  enmity  against  the  author 
of  the  gospel  system,  is  it  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the 
Jews  could  be  converted  by  the  gospel  ?  The  same  animosity 
that  inflamed  the  mind  of  Saul  of  Tarsus,  and  the  high 
priests,  and  the  Sanhedrim,  against  Christ  and  his  disciples, 
is  taught  to  the  youthful  mind  of  their  posterity.  Every 
Jew,  most  conscientiously  instructs  his  child  in  the  Jew's 
religion  ;  and,  at  the  same  time  inculcates  prejudice  and 
animosity  against' the  Christian  religion.  Here  is  a  double 
barrier  raised  against  the  influence  of  the  gospel  in  the  mind 
of  every  Israelite,  which  the  gospel  in  its  ordinary  operation, 
as  the  means  of  salvation,  cannot  overcome. 

I  do  not  say  the  Jew  may  not  be  converted  miraculously, 
as  Saul  of  Tarsus  was  ;  but  such  conversions  would  not  be 
the  effect  of  the  gospel,  any  more  than  his  conversion  was. 

The  conclusion,  therefore,  seems  inevitable,  that  the  Jews, 
speaking  of  them  as  a  peoi)le,  cannot  be  converted  by  the 
gospel.  There  must  be  some  other  means  of  reaching  tlieir 
hearts  than  those  now  known,  or  their  case  is  a  hopeless  one. 

Just  at  this  point  the  Apostle  Paul  comes  uj) — he  who 


212  THE  ArOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

was  aforetime  the  very  Saul  of  Tarsus — who  thought,  verily, 
he  was  doing  God  service  when  he  was  persecuting  unto 
death  the  disciples  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

We  see  him  in  the  ninth  chapter  of  Romans  deeply  affected 
at  the  almost  hopeless  state  of  his  brethren,  the  Jews,  as 
he  contemplates  the  unimpressible  obduracy  of  their  minds, 
and  we  hear  him  give  vent  to  his  grief  in  this  language  :  I 
say  the  truth  in  Christ,  I  lie  not,  my  conscience  also  hearing  me 
witness  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  I  have  great  heaviness  and  con- 
tinual sorrow  in  my  heart.  For  I  could  wish  that  myself  were 
accursed  from  Christ  for  my  brethren,  my  Icinsmen  according  to 
the  flesh.  Again  we  hear  him  in  the  same  sorrowful  strain  in 
the  tenth  chapter,  pouring  out  his  soul  in  holy  sympathy  for 
his  kinsmen  :  Brethren,  my  hearfs  desire  and  prayer  to  God  for 
Israel  is,  that  they  might  he  saved  ;  for  I  hear  them  record  that 
they  have  a  zeal  of  God,  hut  not  according  to  knowledge  ;  for 
they,  heing  ignorant  of  God's  righteousness,  and  going  ahout  to 
establish  their  oion  righteousness,  have  not  submitted  themselves 
to  the  righteousness  of  God.  For  Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law 
for  righteousness  to  every  one  that  believeth.  This  is  the  point 
at  which  his  countrymen  failed  ;  they  would  not  receive  the 
man  Christ,  coming  in  the  form  of  a  servant,  as  the  end  of 
the  law,  and  they  rejected  him. 

In  these  expressions  of  the  apostle,  he  is  deploring,  the  un- 
happy state  of  his  countrymen  to  the  Gentile  converts  of  his 
own  day,  as  well  as  the  Gentile  Churches  that  should  after- 
worrds  be  raised  up  by  the  preaching  of  the  gospel. 

He  well  knew  the  effect  which  must  be  produced  upon  the 
mind  of  Christians  in  all  future  time  by  the  act  of  his  country- 
men in  crucifying  the  Author  of  the  gospel.  He  knew  that 
it  would  l)e  looked  upon  in  no  other  light  than  a  cruel  and 
barbarous  transaction,  and  that  it  would  subject  the  Jews  to 
severe  treatment  at  the  hands  of  Chrit^tian  nations,  as  a  sort 
of  retaliation.  I  need  not  say  how  fully  the  apostle's  appre- 
hensions have  been  realized  in  the  outrages,  injustice,  and 
cruelties,  wliich  liave  been  heaped  upon  the  Jews  in  Chris- 


CHAPTER  XX.  273 

tian  countries.  How  tlioy  have  lieeii  (leiiicd  tlie  }»olitical  and 
social  rights  enjoyed  by  all  other  men,  separated  and  set 
apart  as  objects  of  scorn  and  hatred,  their  property  seized 
and  taken  from  their  possession  at  the  will  and  caprice  of  tlie 
powers  under  which  they  happened  to  live,  by  people,  too, 
whose  lives,  for  virtue  and  morality,  bore  no  comparison  with 
the  lives  of  the  Jews. 

The  apostle  labors  to  mitigate  the  severity  witli  which  he 
foresaw  the  cruel  act  of  his  countrymen  would  l3e  visited,  upon 
the  ground  that  blindness,  m  part,  had  happened  to  them,  and 
in  that  blindness  they  had  mistaken  the  purposes  of  God  in 
showing  his  righteousness  to  mankind,  and  went  aljout  estab- 
lishing their  own  views  of  what  was  consistent  with  his  glory 
and  his  righteousness.  He  urges  that  they  were  zealous  of 
God,  but  their  zeal  was  not  tempered  with  knowledge,  and 
finally  admits  that  they  had  fallen. 

But  with  great  tenderness  of  feeling  for  his  countrymen,  he 
urges  the  Gentile  world  to  regard  them  rather  with  sorrow 
and  compassion  than  with  anger,  especially  as  their  fall  had 
not  injuriously  affected  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  Gentile 
world,  but  had  rather  strengthened  them. 

The  apostle  claims  the  right  to  speak  freely  on  this  sul)j('ct 
to  the  Gentiles,  inasmuch  as  he  says  :  lam  the  apostle  of  the 
Gentiles  ;  I  magnify  mine  office  ;  while  I  imjilore  you  to  exer- 
cise toward  my  countrymen  a  forgiving  si)irit,  a  generous 
Christian  sympathy.  And  he  urges  this  further  consideration 
upon  them  :  These  natural  branches  were  broken  off  from 
the  good  olive  tree,  and  are  scattered  over  the  earth  like 
dead  branches  which  men  gather  and  Ijurn,  because  of  unbe- 
lief ;  and  thou  hast  been  grafTed  into  the  good  olive  tree  ))y 
faith  :  take  heed  lest  thou  also,  through  unbelief,  fall,  and  so 
be  broken  off  as  they  are.     Be  not  high-mindefl,  hut  fear. 

After  lamenting  the  sad  state  of  his  kinsmen,  and  frankly 
acknowledging  their  fall  from  the  favor  and  kindness  of  God, 
he  changes  the  view  of  their  case,  and  as  if  hope  had  just 
shed  a  ray  of  light  over  their  condition,  he  exclaims — /  say 

VOL.  II.— 12* 


274  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

then,  hath  God  cast  away  his  people  ?  God  forbid !  For  I 
aha  am  an  Israelite,  of  the  seed  of  Abraham,  of  the  tribe  of 
Jhnjaviin.  God  hath  not  cast  away  his  peojde  which  he  fore- 
knew, or  I  should  not  stand  as  I  do  now  in  his  favor.  And 
they  also,  if  they  abide  not  still  in  unbelief,  shall  be  graffed  into 
their  own  olive  tree  again,  and  so  all  Israel  shall  be  saved  ;  as 
it  is  written,  there  shall  come  out  of  Zion  the  Deliverer,  and 
shall  turn  awiay  ungodliness  from  Jacob.  For  this  is  my  cov- 
enant with  them  when  I  shall  take  away  their  sins,  llth  chap. 
Romans. 

In  this  epistle,  addressed  to  the  Romans,  was  an  appeal 
to  all  the  Gentile  world,  since  the  Roman  power  extended 
over  the  civilized  world  at  that  time — all  were  Romans. 
Nor  was  the  epistle  designed  to  be  limited  to  his  day.  He 
spoke  to  the  Gentile  Churches  which  would  be  raised  up  by 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel  in  all  future  time. 

In  much  of  this  greatest  of  all  his  epistles,  he  labors  to 
present  the  unhappy  state  of  his  kinsmen,  the  Jews,  in  such 
a  light  as  to  conciUate  the  Gentile  Church,  and  soften  the 
predudices  which  he  saw  must  arise  against  the  Jews  on 
account  of  the  tragical  scenes  of  Calvary. 

His  whole  argument  is  prospective,  and  it  is  evident  that 
the  spiritual  recovery  of  Israel  is  to  come  at  some  future 
period.  When  will  that  be  ?  He  tells  us  that  the  blindness 
v/hicli  hath  happened  to  Israel  in  part,  and  owing  to  which 
they  have  stumbled,  will  remain  until  the  fuPness  of  the  Gen- 
tiles be  come.  That  is,  the  vail  which  is  upon  their  minds 
will  remain  until  the  time  appointed  for  salvation  to  the  Gen- 
tiles is  fulfilled — until  the  gospel  dispensation  comes  to  an 
end.  The  gospel  of  this  kingdom  shall  be  preached  in  all  the 
world  for  a  witness  to  all  people  ;  and  then  shall  the  end  come. 
This  end  fulfills,  or  completes  the  time,  or  season  of  gospel 
mercy  to  the  Gentiles. 

Tiie  apostle  does  not  say  that  the  Jews  will  be  any  better 
reconciled  to  the  gospel  as  the  means  of  salvation,  when  its 
day  closes  with  the   Gentiles  ;  but  he  says  their  salvation 


CHAPTER  XX.  275 

will  be  brouo-lit  about  by  otlu^r  means.  There  shall  come  cvt 
of  Zion  the  Deliverer,  and  shall  turn  away  ungodliness  from 
Jacob.  Tlicy  will  not  be  driven  by  cahunities,  nor  forced  by 
the  apprehension  of  divine  vengeance,  to  embrace  that  gos- 
pel, which  their  ardently-elierished  reli<!:ion  and  their  nncon- 
qncrable  educational  jH-ejudices  will  not  allow  them  honestly 
and  in  good  faith  to  receive.  They  rejected  Christ  because 
they  believed  he  was  an  impostor,  assuming  a  character  of 
divinity,  and  a  relationship  to  the  Deity,  which  their  zeal  for 
the  glory  and  honor  of  the  most  high  God,  would  not  allow 
any  inferior  being  to  assume.  They  would  not  submit  to 
hear  one  whom  they  supposed  to  be  a  mere  man,  claiming 
equal  honors  with  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  of  Isaac,  and 
of  Jacob — the  God  of  their  fathers,  and  their  God.  For  a 
good  work  we  stone  thee  not,  hut  for  hlasjphemy  ;  and  that  thou, 
heing  Oj  man,  makest  thyself  God*  Here  was  the  ground  of 
the  prejudice  which  the  Jews  entertained  against  Christ. 
He  being,  as  they  supposed,  an  obscure  man,  claimed 
equality  with  God. 

Is  it  not  consistent  with  the  mercy  and  justice  of  the  Most 
High,  that,  since  his  ancient  people  fell  into  darkness,  and 
stumbled  from  an  ardent,  though  blind  zeal  for  his  glory, 
that  some  other  way  should  be  provided  for  their  recovery 
than  that  which  they,  on  that  account,  are  unaljle  to  receive  ? 
Has  he  on  this  account  cast  away  his  people  ?  Nay,  verily  : 
but  there  shall  ''ome  out  of  Zion  tfie  Deliverer,  and  shall  tnrn 
away  ungodliness  from  Jacob. 

"jlie  gospel  dispensation  then,  as  we  Gentiles  now  have  it, 
proljably  is  not  the  way  by  which  the  Jews  are  to  be  brought 
into  the  possession  of  their  covenanted  spiritual  blessings  ; 
their  day  is  not  yet  come.  Their  deliverer,  or  deliverance, 
will  come  out  of  Zion.  It  will  l)e  asked,  does  not  the  scrij)- 
ture  say,  that  "  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given 

■-n  imption,  and  told  them  he 

assumed  to  . 


276  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

"  among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved  but  by  the  name 
"  of  Jesus  Clirist  ?  "  True,  this  was  the  declaration  of  St. 
Peter,  wliich  he  boldly  made  before  the  high  priests,  when 
they  questioned  him  as  to  what  power,  or  by  what  name  he 
had  made  the  lame  man  to  walk.  But  this  does  not  say 
that  this  name  is  limited  in  its  saving  power  to  the  gospel 
day — that  it  cannot  be  effectual  in  the  salvation  of  the  Jews 
after  it  has  ceased  as  a  means  to  the  Gentiles,  when  their 
fullness  has  come. 

And  this  is  precisely  what  I  understand  the  apostle  to 
mean — this  all-powerful  name  did  not  avail  for  the  salvation 
of  the  Jews,  while  it  was  adapted  to  the  Gentiles  ;  but  out 
of  Zion,  hereafter,  it  will  come  to  them  as  a  mighty  deliverer. 
It  now  remains  to  inquire  what  is  meant  by  Zion  ?  What  is 
it  ? — where  is  it  ? — and  when  is  it  ? 

This  Zion,  of  which  the  apostle  speaks  in  Heb.  xii.,  is  the 
antitype  of  old  Mount  Sinai,  where  God  revealed  himself  in 
such  terrific  grandeur  to  his  Israelitish  Church  in  the  wilder- 
ness. The  history  of  that  scene  is  found  in  the  nineteenth 
chapter  of  Exodus.  I  need  not  repeat  it.  The  grandeur  of 
it  was  overwhelming  ;  and  so  awfully  sacred  was  the  whole 
mountain,  by  reason  of  the  Divine  presence,  that  neither 
man  nor  beast  was  allowed  to  touch  it,  under  pain  of  being 
stoned  to  death  or  thrust  through  with  a  dart.  ,  And  in 
view  of  the  awful  symbols  of  the  Divine  presence  which 
covered  and  shook  the  mountain,  Moses  himself  said,  /  exceed- 
ingly fear  and  quake. 

The  apostle  says,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  when  he 
points  the  Christian  Church  to  the  glorious  manifestation  of 
Christ,  which  will  take  place  when  his  people  shall  be  called 
to  behold  his  glory  at  his  second  coming,  Ye  are  not  come, 
or  will  not  come,  to  those  scenes  of  terror,  such  as  were  wit- 
nessed on  Mount  Sinai,  but  ye  are  come  unto  Mount  Zion,  and 
unto  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to  an 
innuTmrahle  company  of  angels  ;  to  the  general  assembly  and 
church  of  the  first-born,  [first  resurrection,]  which  are  written 


CHAPTER  XX.  271 

in  heaven,  and  to  God,  the  Judge  of  all,  and  to  the  spirits  of 
just  men  made  'perfect  ;  and  to  Jesus,  the  Mediator  of  the  new 
covenant,  and  to  the  blood  of  sprinlding,  that  speaketh  letter 
things  tJian  the  hlood  of  A  hcl. 

This  state  can  be  no  other  than  that  on  wliieli  llic  people  of 
God  are  to  enter  at  the  close  of  the  gospel  dispensation — the 
resurrection  state — the  thousand  years'  reign  of  Christ.  I 
have  dwelt  so  much  upon  this  state  already,  that  I  have 
nothing  further  to  say  about  it  just  now,  only  to  exhibit  it  as 
the  Mount  Zion,  out  of  which  the  deliverer  is  to  come  who 
will  turn  away  ungodliness  from  Jacob. 

The  state  of  the  Gentile  world  before  and  at  the  advgnt  of 
the  Savior,  was  unquestionably  a  state  of  the  deepest  moral 
degradation.  Their  social,  civil,  and  religious  habits,  were 
deeply  tainted  with  gross  corruption.  A  vivid  picture  of  this 
universal  depravity  of  Gentile  manners,  is  given  by  the  ai)0s- 
tle  in  the  first  chapter  of  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 

The  Jews,  as  a  nation,  abhorred  the  Gentiles  as  a  profli- 
gate, corrupt,  and  debased  race  of  people,  utterly  unworthy 
of  any  confidence  or  respect,  and  only  fit  to  be  regarded  as 
"  dogs" — the  term  which  they  always  used  when  speaking  of 
them. 

But  these  people  were  objects  of  God's  mercy  and  of  the 
atonement  of  Christ.  He  came  into  the  world  in  a  way 
adapted  to  their  state.  He  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  ser- 
vant. His  birth  had  nothing  connected  with  it  but  meanness 
of  circumstance  ;  and  the  poverty  of  his  manhood  was  ex- 
pressed by  himself  in  these  words  :  The  foxes  have  holes,  and 
the  fowls  of  the  air  have  nests,  hut  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not 
where  to  lay  his  head. 

This  appearance  of  poverty  and  great  inferiority  in  the 
condition  of  Christ,  was,  no  dou])t,  necessary  in  the  i)uri)Oses 
of  his  mission,  and  gave  him  easier  access  to  the  Gentile 
world,  who  must  have  felt  themselves,  in  all  matters  of  divine 
knowledge  and  religious  attainments,  inlinitely  IjcIow  the 
Jews.     They  would  the  more  readily  receive  the  instructions 


278  THE  ArOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

and  yield  to  the  doctrines  of  one,  whose  life  was  so  meek  and 
lowly  as  to  be  despised  by  the  Jewish  nation,  as  they  were 
themselves. 

But,  in  the  eye  of  the  Jew,  all  this  appearance  of  poverty 
and  willingness  to  receive  Gentiles,  and  to  think  as  much  of 
them  as  of  the  Jews,  was  the  stumbling  point.  Here  they 
fell  into  that  darkness  from  which  they  have  not  yet  reco- 
vered. 

Tile  Jew  was  extravagant  in  self-esteem.  His  religious 
pride  disdained  any  association  with  Gentile  degradation  ; 
and  even  an  accidental  touch  or  contact  with  a  Gentile,  was 
held  to  be  a  pollution  which  required  a  resort  to  ceremonial 
washings  to  be  cleansed  from.  These  lofty  views  of  their  reli- 
gious superiority  arose  from  their  election  or  adoption  as  the 
people  of  God  ;  and  they  were  proud  to  trace,  from  Abraham 
down  to  the  times  we  speak  of,  a  line  of  illustrious  ancestors, 
honored  of  God  more  than  any  other  people  on  the  earth. 

Imi)ressed  with  these  sentiments,  it  was  natural  that  they 
should  look  with  disdain  upon  any  body  or  upon  any  system 
that  proposed  to  bring  the  corrupt  and  degraded  Gentiles 
into  a  participation  of  the  glory  to  which  they  laid  exclusive 
claims  as  the  only  people  of  God. 

If,  instead  of  the  humble  condition,  the  servant-like  form, 
in  which  Christ  came  .into  the  world,  he  had  appeared  with 
an  angelic  retinue  and  glorious  pomp,  the  Jews  would  have 
liailed  him  as  their  Messiah,  and  received  him  with  divine 
honors. 

Tlio  scanid  cominfi;  of  Christ  will  be  just  such  an  appearing. 
There  will  l)e  nothing  of  the  poverty  and  humiliation  at 
wliich  the  Jews  were  mortified  and  disa])i)ointed  in  his  first 
advent. 

He  speaks  of  his  second  appearing  in  glory  in  the  25th 
chapter  of  Matthew  :  Wlien  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  his 
glory,  and  all  the  holy  angels  with  him,  then  shall  he  sit  upon 
the  throne  of  his  glory.  And  in  the  first  chapter  of  the  Ke- 
vclation  the   same  event   is  announced,  thus  :     Behold!    he 


CHAPTER  XX.  279 

Cometh  loith  clouds  and  every  eye  shall  see  hi?n,  nvd  tlm/  ah) 
which  pierced  him,  and  all  kindreds  of  the  earlh  shall  vdU 
because  of  him. 

Steadfast  iu  their  Ix'lief  in  the  })ropliecies  of  their  own 
scriptures,  as  they  have  always  construed  them,  the  Jews  are 
still  looking  for  a  glorious  appearing  of  their  Messiah.  They 
have  never  ceased  to  entertain  the  expectation  that  their 
Messiah  will  come  in  majesty  and  great  power,  and  his  se- 
cond advent  will  meet  their  highest  conceptions  of  such  an 
appearing.  The  Jews  are  specially  alluded  to  in  the  last  of 
the  above  texts  :  and  they  also  that  pierced  him  shall  see  him. 
And  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  as  well  as  Dr.  Benson,  renders  the 
text — all  Hudreds  of  the  earth — all  the  tribes  of  the  laud. 
Thus  identifying  the  Jews  in  every  state  of  their  former 
condition  of  civil  and  religious  polity,  as  those  who  shall  look 
upon  him  and  wail  because  of  him. 

From  this  wailing,  the  belief  has  arisen  with  many,  that 
the  second  coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  will  be  the  signal 
of  distress  and  calamity  to  the  Jews,  beyond  that  which  will 
be  inflicted  upon  any  other  people.  But  there  is  no  authority 
in  scripture  for  any  such  opinion.  On  the  contrary,  all 
that  we  read  on  that  subject  is  decidedly  of  a  gracious  and 
merciful  character  in  God's  dealing  with  his  ancient  people. 

Their  kinsman,  the  great  apostle,  St.  Paul,  while  he  most 
eloquently  pleads  their  cause  before  the  Gentile  world,  at  the 
same  time  shows  that  God  hath  not  cast  away  his  j)eopIe 
which  he  foreknew  ;  and  that  out  of  the  very  event  to  which 
this  ill-founded  opinion  looks  for  the  total  destruction  of  the 
Jews,  will  arise  the  Deliverer  that  shall  turn  away  ungodli- 
ness from  Jacob  !  True,  he  admits  they  are  branches  broken 
off  from  the  olive  tree,  and  seem  for  the  present  to  be  cast 
away;  but  this,  he  says,  is  the  reconciling  of  the  (Gentile) 
world,  and  when  they  are  received  again,  what  will  it  lie  but 
life  from  the  dead  1 

Their  present  casting  away  is  temporary  and  will  continue 
no  longer  than  the  gospel    dispensation   continues.      They 


280  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

made  it  necessary  themselves.  Their  obstinate  unbelief — 
their  stubborn  prejudice  against  Christianity,  blocked  up  the 
way  of  the  gospel,  and  in  every  way  hindered  and  defeated 
its  effects  and  influence  upon  the  Gentile  nations.  These 
branches  which  could  not  be  trained  to  a  proper  growth, 
and  only  prevented  the  growth  of  other  branches,  giving 
greater  promise  of  fruitfulness,  had  to  be  broken  off  ;  but 
when  the  day  of  the  Gentile  dispensation — the  gospel  day — 
comes  to  an  end  :  has  had  its  fullness — then  the  Jewish 
branches  will  be  graffed  on  again.  Whose  heart  does  not 
catch  the  enthusiasm  of  the  apostle  when  he  exclaims  :  Nay 
verily,  God  hath  not  cast  away  his  people  whom  he  foreknew. 

The  words  of  Christ  are  to  the  same  effect —  Ye  shall  see 
me  no  more  till  the  time  come  ichen  ye  shall  say,  Blessed  is  he  that 
Cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  When  will  that  be  ?  at  his 
second  appearing  ;  when  every  eye  shall  see  him,  and  they 
also  ickich  pierced  him,  shall  look  upon  him  ! 

The  wailing  spoken  of  in  the  text  is  not  a  wailing  of  ter- 
ror, but  of  grief — sorrow — compunction  !  When  they  behold 
Christ  in  the  glory  of  the  Father,  and  all  the  holy  angels 
with  him,  and  recognise  him  to  be  the  very  Christ  whom 
they  rejected  and  crucified,  their  grief  will  be  extreme,  and 
they  will  give  utterence  to  it  in  lamentation  and  wailing. 
When  they  look  upon  the  majesty  and  glory  that  will  then 
distinguish  their  Messiah,  and  call  to  remembrance  the  scenes 
of  Calvary,  and  almost  the  last  words  he  uttered  from  the 
cross — Father,  forgive  them  ;  they  know  not  what  they  do  ;  a 
wail  of  penitential  sorrow  will  break  from  all  Israel  that  will 
echo  mournfully  over  the  whole  earth. 

Becoming  assured  that  he  who  left  the  world  with  such 
feelings  of  compassion  for  those  who  crucified  him,  had  re- 
turned to  earth  again  with  feelings  no  less  merciful  and  kind, 
their  wailing  will  end  in  the  joyful  exclamation — Blessed  is 
he  th/it  comet h  in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

That  the  Jews  are  to  have  a  dispensation  peculiarly  their 
own,  when  Christ  shall  appear  again  on  the  earth,  seems 


CHAPTER  XX.  .  281 

to  be  well-cstablislied  by  what  lie  said  to  his  disciples:  (Matt. 
19  :  28  :  And  Jesus  said  unto  Limn,  verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  that  ye  ichich  have  followed  me,  in  their  generation  when  the 
Son  of  Man  shall  sit  in  the  throne  of  his  glory,  ye  also  shall 
sit  on  twelve  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel. 

These  great  subjects  of  the  next  life,  or  the  next  world, 
as  far  as  the  disciples  were  able  to  bear  such  revelation, 
were,  no  doubt,  often  spoken  of  by  the  Savior  to  his 
disciples,  when  they  were  apart  from  the  multitude,  and  in 
his  different  conversations  relative  to  the  same  subject,  he 
would  very  naturally  present  it  in  different  language.  The 
above  quotation  gives  his  words  as  they  were  impressed  upon 
the  mind  of  St.  Matthew  ;  and  St.  Luke,  in  recording  his 
conversation  on  the  same  subject,  gives  it  in  the  language 
which  most  impressed  his  mind — (Luke,  chap.  22  :  29,  30: 
And  I  appoint  unto  you  a  kingdom,  as  my  Father  hath  ap- 
pointed unto  me;  that  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  my  table  in  my 
kingdom,  aiid  sit  on  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Is- 
rael. 

Here  is  the  testimony  of  our  Lord  himsulf,  in  relation 
both  to  the  Jews  and  Christians  in  his  kingdom.  The  Chris- 
tians are  to  occupy  stations  of  preeminence,  implied  by  sit- 
ting on  thrones  ;  the  reason  implied  by  this  is  given  by 
Christ  :  they  had  followed  him  in  tlie  trying  scenes  of  the 
gospel  dispensation  ;  suffering  the  persecutions  and  trials  of 
an  ungodly  world,  for  their  faith  and  obedience  to  the  word 
of  God.  They  are  also  invested  with  the  honor  of  judging 
the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  The  words,  judging  and  judg- 
ment, I  have  before  remarked,  have  a  variety  of  meaning, 
and  in  the  use  here  made  of  the  term  judgment,  we  must 
understand  it  to  signify  instruction,  guiding  ;  the  full  admin- 
istration of  laws  to  effect  great  moral  })urposes. 

That  the  Jews  will  need  all  this  when  they  enter  ujion 
their  peculiar  dispensation  is  very  obvious,  since  they  have 
kept  themselves  excluded  from  everything  respecting  Christ, 
and  the  great  ends  of  Christianity  ;  they  will  be  greatly  be- 


282  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED.  ^ 

low  the  rank  wliicli  enlightened  Christians  will  occupy  in 
l)oint  of  knowledge  in  that  kingdom. 

The  righteous,  our  Savior  says,  shall  shine  forth  as  the  sun 
in  the  kingdom  of  their  Father.  These  are  the  people  who 
have  followed  him  in  the  temptations  and  tribulations  of  the 
gospel  dispensation.  Their  minds  of  course  will  be  more 
fully  imbued  with  divine  knowledge,  and  their  spirits  will  be 
in  a  higher  state  of  perfection,  than  any  people  that  have 
not  had  the  light  and  the  instruction  of  the  gospel  ;  the 
very  trials  and  persecutions  they  have  had  to  contend  with 
in  their  earth's  pilgrimage,  have  tended  to  confirm  and  ele- 
vate their  spirits  in  righteousness,  and  to  deepen  and  perfect 
their  experience  in  that  wisdom  which  is  to  give  them  such 
great  distinction  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 

All  others  who  will  enter  that  kingdom,  without  having 
had  the  light  of  the  gospel  dispensation,  are  compared  to 
stars  of  dififerent  magnitude  and  brightness  :  as  one  star  dif- 
fereth  from  another  star  in  glory,  so  will  those  saved  out  of 
different  lands  and  nations,  where  the  light  of  the  gospel 
never  shone  ;  they  will  appear  in  various  degrees  of  know- 
ledge and  purity,  according  to  the  light  and  means  they  had. 
Surely  no  Christian  will  be  offended  at  this  view^,  which  ad- 
mits into  the  kingdom  of  God,  those  who  never  heard  of 
Jesus  Christ  !  Peter  was  cured  of  that  bigotry  which  cir- 
cumscribed and  restricted  the  mercy  of  God  to  his  own  na- 
tion, by  the  great  sheet  which  he  saw  let  down  from  heaven, 
full  of  all  manner  of  four-footed  beasts  and  creeping  things, 
and  what  he  saw  in  the  house  of  Cornelius.  As  Peter  jour- 
neyed from  Joppa,  with  the  messengers  Cornelius  had  sent  to 
invite  him  into  his  house,  he  wondered  much  what  the  vision 
he  had  seen  signified.  He  though  intently  upon  it  but  conkl 
liiid  no  clue  to  its  meaning,  until  he  arrived  at  the  house  of 
the  centurion,  where  he  found  a  company  assembled,  tlie 
neighbors,  kinsmen,  and  friends  of  this  good  heathen,  who 
were  invit(;d  by  him  no  doubt,  to  be  present  on  this  singukir 
occasion. 


CHAPTER  XX.  283 

Peter  entered,  and  the  good  centurion  nn-t  liiin  ;  and, 
supposing  from  the  manner  in  wliich  he  liad  Ix-en  directed  to 
send  for  Peter,  tliat  he  must  l)e  some  superhuman  being,  fell 
down  at  his  feet  to  worsliip  liim.  Peter  quickly  told  him  to 
stand  up,  saying,  that  he  was  nothing  more  than  a  man  him- 
self. Entering  into  the  house  with  the  centurion,  and  li tid- 
ing many  people  assembled,  he  asked  for  what  purpose  they 
had  sent  for  him  ?  Cornelius  immediately  proceeded  to  recite 
that  simple  and  beautiful  story  of  what  had  transpired  in  his 
house  four  days  before.  Four  days  ago,  I  was  fasting  until 
this  hour  ;  and  at  the  ninth  hour  I  praycl  in  my  house  ;  and, 
lehold,  a  man  stood  before  me  in  bright  clothing,  and  said,  Cor- 
nelius, thy  -prayer  is  heard  and  thine  alms  are  had  in  remem- 
brance in  the  sight  of  God.  Send  therefore  to  Joppa,  and  call 
hither  Simon,  whose  surname  is  Peter;  he  is  lodged  in  the  house 
of  one  Simon,  a  tanner,  by  the  sea  side,  who,  when  he  comcth 
shall  speak  unto  thee.  Immediately,  therefore,  I  sent  unto  thee, 
and  thou  hast  well  done  that  thou  art  come.  Now,  therefore,  are 
we  all  here  present  before  God  to  hear  all  things  that  are  com- 
manded thee  of  God. 

Peter  stood  listening  and  looking  at  Cornelius,  with  great 
surprise  no  doubt,  whilst  the  pious  heathen  rehearsed  the  cir- 
cumstances which  led  him' to  send  men  to  Joi)pa  to  invite  the 
apostle  down  to  Cesarea. 

And  we  must  suppose,  while  Peter  was  listening  to  the  ac- 
count the  centurion  was  giving  of  the  manner  of  God's  mani- 
festations to  him,  his  Jewish  prejudices  began  to  yield  and 
melt  down  under  the  recital,  and  that  tears  of  brotherly  sym- 
pathy fell  from  his  eyes  as  he  gazed  upon  that  humble  and 
godly  Gentile,  whom  he  had  been  taught,  as  a  Jew,  to  regard 
in  no  better  light  than  a  "  dog." 

Tiiis  scene  produced  an  entire  revolution  in  Peter's  mind 
in  respect  to  the  peoi)le  of  Gentile  lands.  We  may  imagine 
him  speaking  to  the  company,  after  Cornelius  was  done  speak- 
ing to  him,  thus  :  "  You  all  know  that  we  Jews  consider  it 
"  unlawful  to  keep  company  with  peoi)le  of  another  nation  ; 


284  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

"  tliat  we  liold  ourselves  above  all  the  rest  of  the  world,  and 
"chiiin  to  have  the  exclusive  right  to  whatever  favors  God 
"  may  please  to  bestow  upon  men.  But  I  am  done  with  all 
"  such  bigotry  and  exclusiveness  now.  What  I  have  seen 
"  and  heard  to-day  in  the  house  of  this  Gentile,  satisfies  me 
"  that  I  have  been  in  a  great  error  on  that  subject.  And 
"  now,  of  a  truth,  I  perceive  that  God  is  no  respecter  of  per- 
"  sons,  but  in  every  nation  he  ilvAi  feareth  him  and  uwrketh 
"  righteousness  is  accepted  with  him. 

Tliis  is  the  point  at  which  I  aimed  in  bringing  before  the 
reader  this  most  interesting  meeting  between  the  zealous  ser- 
vant of  God  under  the  Christian  dispensation,  and  the  no  less 
pious  and  humble  servant  of  God  in  a  heathen  land,  who  had 
never  heard  the  gospel. 

Upon  this  broad  and  comprehensive  principle  of  God's 
mercy  to  men  of  all  nations  who  fear  him  and  Avork  righteous- 
ness, the  conclusion  is  unavoidable  that  there  will  be  many 
such  stars  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  out  of  many  heathen  coun- 
tries, who,  like  Cornelius,  feared  God,  fasted  and  prayed 
fervently,  and  whose  piety  was  as  deep  and  as  sincere  as  any 
found  amongst  Christians.  These  will  shine  as  the  stars,  but 
will  be  as  far  below  the  distinguished  positions  which  will  be 
occupied  by  Christians,  as  the  stars  in  their  light  a:'e  inferi<5r 
to  the  sun. 

A  further  confirmation  of  this  view  of  those  who  will  be 
admitted  to  that  kingdom,  is  given  in  the  words  of  our  Savior, 
who  said,  on  a  certain  occasion,  to  those  who  live  in  the  gos- 
pel dispensation — for  these  words  of  his  were  intended  to  ap- 
ply to  the  whole  period  of  that  dispensation —  There  shall  he 
weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth  when  ye  shall  see  Abraham,  and 
Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  all  the  prophets,  in  the  kingdom  of  God, 
and  ye  yourselves  thrust  out.  Not  intending  to  limit  liis  mean- 
ing to  These  patriarchs  and  prophets  in  the  kingdom  of  God, 
])ut  extending  it  to  the  multitudes  who  feared  God  and 
wrought  righteousness  in  the  com})aratively  dark  disi)ensa- 
tions,  at  the   head  of  which   these  distinguished  worthies 


CHAPTER  XX.  285 

stood;  these  will  enter  into  that  kingdom,  while  the  p:re:it 
majority  of  those  that  have  lived  in  the  superior  light  of  the 
gospel  dispensation  will  be  cast  out  or  rejected. 

But  those  who  come  into  the  kingdom  of  God  from  heathen 
lands  will  lack  the  superior  light  and  wisdom  wliich  Cliris- 
tians  will  bring  with  them  from  the  Christian  dispensation, 
and  will  shine  only  as  the  stars  of  an  inferior  and  darker  dis- 
pensation. 

It  can  hardly  be  necessary  to  say  that  the  terms,  shine, 
light,  and  brightness,  as  applied  to  the  subjects  of  that  king- 
dom, are  to  be  understood  as  having  a'  moral  or  spiritual 
meaning,  and  refer  to  intellectual  and  spiritual  degrees  of 
perfection. 

The  rank  which  the  Christian  will  occupy  will  be  far  above 
the  rest.  Ye  shall  sit  upon  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of 
Israel.  They  will  administer  the  government  of  this  new 
kingdom  under  the  supreme  authority  of  Christ  himself. 

Judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  refers  to  imi)arting  light 
and  instruction  to  the  Jewish  nation,  to  enable  them  to  ap- 
preciate and  enjoy  the  blessings  of  that  kingdom.  The 
twelve  tribes  of  Israel  is  a  comprehensive  term,  as  used  here, 
and  probably  signifies  all  who  had  devoutly  worshiped  and 
feared  God  according  to  the  light  they  received  from  the  Mo- 
saic economy.  The  Jewish  Church  will  then  stand  next  to 
the  Christian  Church  in  point  of  spiritual  attainments  and  the 
knowledge  of  God.  And  as  Christianity  will  then  judge  or 
instruct  all  Israel,  so  likewise  will  it  govern,  judge,  or  teach 
all  that  are  saved  out  of  heathen  lands,  these  being  as  far  be- 
low the  rank  or  position  which  Israel  will  occupy  as  Chris- 
tianity will  be  above  it.  These  smaller  stars  are  compre- 
hended in  the  greater  stars. 

Peter,  the  Christian  teacher  in  the  house  of  Cornelius,  in- 
structing the  huml^le  heathen  who  had  assembled  there,  and 
directing  their  minds  to  the  higher  principles  of  the  divine 
economy  as  it  is  revealed  through  Jesus  Christ,  is  somewhat 
of  an  illustration  of  what  will  be  Xhe  judgment  which  the  saints 


286  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

will  -exercise  over  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  :  it  will  be  in- 
structive, elevatiiic:,  and  purifying  to  the  mind.  This  must 
be  the  only  kind  of  judgment  that  will  be  known  in  the  king- 
dom of  God. 

These  will  be  regarded  as  hard  sayings  by  those  whose 
opinions  of  the  future  state  or  the  next  world,  are  little  else 
than  undefined  and  indistinct  notions  of  a  heaven  of  happiness 
somewhere  or  other  for  the  righteous,  and  a  hell  of  punish- 
ment somewhere  else  for  the  wicked.  Any  idea  of  moral 
government,  such  as  has  been  suggested,  existing  on  this  earth 
after  what  the  scripture  calls  the  end  of  the  world,  is  revolt- 
ing to  these  notions  of  man's  hereafter. 

The  whole  world  arranged  at  a  judgment  bar  to  hear  the 
sentence  which  is  to  fix  their  eternal  state — the  burning  up 
of  the  world,  the  shouts  of  the  saved,  and  the  groans  of  the 
lost,  make  up  their  entire  views  of  the  future  state.  That 
happiness  will  be  the  condition  of  the  righteous  in  the  next 
life,  and  wretchedness  the  condition  of  the  wicked,  are  truths 
which  it  does  not  become  men  to  trifle  with.  And  that  these 
opposite  states  are  connected  with  the  administration  of  laws, 
and  arise  from  the  necessity  of  divine  government,  is  too  ap- 
parent to  be  matter  of  doubt. 

I  have  said  that  the  thousand  years'  reign  of  Christ  with 
his  saints  on  the  earth  and  the  kingdom  of  God,  are  one  and 
the  same  state. 

The  government  of  the  saints  in  the  thousand  years'  reign 
will  have  the  same  object  as  the  government  of  the  church 
l)y  the  gospel  has,  the  improvement  of  man's  moral  and  in- 
tellectual nature  being  the  design  of  both. 

But  the  government  in  the  thousand  years  will  vary  from 
the  present  economy  of  the  divine  government  over  the  world, 
as  it  will  then  a])ply  only  to  man  in  his  immortal  state. 

Man,  in  the  present  body,  is  possessed  of  evil  tempers  and 
vicious  principles  that  are  ever  hurrying  him  into  hurtful  and 
wicked  excesses.  He  is  exposed  to  the  temptation  of  the 
devil  as  well  as  to  the  allurements  of  the  world  that  lieth  in 


CIIArXER  XX.  OS "7 

tlie  wicked  one.  Besides  tliis,  the  wicked  are  now  in  autliorily, 
and  tlicy  often  exercise  their  power  for  the  maintenance  of 
vice,  and  in  direct  0])position  to  godhness.  All  these  m.  al 
forces  and  powers  have  to  be  met  in  the  present  w(jrld  l.y 
those  laws  of  God's  njipointment  having  suita))le  penalties 
denomiced  against  all  iniqnity. 

But  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  or  the  thousand  years'  reign 
of  Christ,  there  will  be  none  of  this.  There  will  be  no  temi)t- 
ing  devil — no  corrupt  principles  or  unholy  affections,  re([uir- 
ing  such  laws  to  check  or  punish  them.  Man's  whole  nature 
then  will  tend  to  God  and  righteousness,  as  if  by  the  force 
of  gravitation. 

But  his  spiritual  and  moral  powers  will  then  require  aid  in 
their  development  as  they  do  now.  Man  does  not  pass  out 
of  the  present  world  with  all  the  imperfections  of  his  mortal 
associations  here,  and  enter  into  his  next  state  in  all  the  per- 
fections of  which  his  spirit  is  capable.  Nor  will  he  be  forced 
into  that  happiness,  which  can  be  attained  only  in  the  next 
world,  by  some  superior  power  which  he  will  neither  under- 
stand nor  be  able  to  resist  ;  but  he  will  enjoy  the  happiness 
by  the  exercise  of  his  faculties  under  the  guidance  and  in- 
struction peculiar  to  that  state.  His  felicity  will  be  enhanced 
by  the  new  discoveries  he  will  be  ever  making  in  the  i)rofound 
mysteries  of  eternity  ;  and  as  he  progresses  in  the  wonders 
of  that  life,  the  powers  and  capacities  of  his  spiritual  nature 
will  ever  be  expanding  with  new  capabilities  of  hajipiness. 
The  whole  government  of  that  state  will  tend  to  stimulate 
and  direct  the  subjects  of  that  kingdom  in  their  endless  pro- 
gression towards  God. 

We  have  made  a  wide  digression  since  we  left  the  prophet. 
We  must  now  rejoin  his  company,  and  listen  again  to  his 
symbolical  expositions. 

We  left  him  where  he  brought  us  in  view  of  the  kingdom 
of  God — the  reign  of  Christ  with  his  saints  for  a  thousand 
years.  What  he  saw  in  that  kingdom,  and  wliat  transpired 
at  the  end  of  the  thousand  years,  he  narrates  in  the  conclud- 


288  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNYEILED. 

iiig  portion  of  this  vision,  all  of  which  relates  to  scenes  that 
transpire  on  earth. 

7.  And  ichen  the  thousand  years  are  expired,  Satan  shall  be 
loosed  out  of  his  prison, 

8.  And  shall  go  out  to  deceive  the  nations  which  are  in  the 
four  quarters  of  the  earth,  Gog  and  Magog,  to  gather  them  to- 
gether to  battle  ;  the  number  of  whom  is  as  the  sand  of  the  sea. 

9.  And  they  went  up  on  the  breadth  of  the  earth,  and  com- 
passed the  camp  of  the  saints  about,  and  the  beloved  city  :  and 
fire  came  down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  and  devoured  them. 

10.  And  the  devil  that  deceived  them  was  cast  into  the  lake  of 
fire  and  brimstone,  where  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet  are,  and 
shall  be  tormented,  day  and  night,  for  ever  and  ever. 

11.  And  I  saiv  a  great  white  throne,  and  him  that  sat  on  it, 
from  whose  face  the  earth  and  the  heaven  fled  away  ;  and  there 
was  found  noplace  for  them. 

12.  And  I  saw  the  dead,  small  and  great,  stand  before  God  ; 
and  the  boohs  loere  opened  ;  and  another  book  was  opened,  which 
is  the  book  of  life  :  and  the  dead  loere  judged  out  of  those  things 
which  were  written  in  the  books,  according  to  their  works. 

13.  And  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in  it ;  and  death 
and  hell  delivered  up  the  dead  which  were  in  them :  and  they 
were  judged  every  man  according  to  their  works. 

14.  And  death  and  hell  were  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire.  This 
is  the  second  death. 

15.  And  whosoever  was  not  found  written  in  the  book  of  life 
was  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire. 

The~  first  circumstance  which  arrests  our  attention  is,  that 
at  the  end  of  the  thousand  years  Satan  is  loosed  out  of  his 
l)rison,  and  goes  out  to  deceive  the  nations  that  are  in  the 
four  quarters  of  the  earth — Gog  and  Magog — to  gather  them 
together  to  battle,  the  number  of  whom  is  as  the  sand  of  the 
sea.  And  they  went  up  on  the  breadth  of  the  earth  and  com- 
passed the  camp  of  the  saints  about,  and  the  beloved  city, 
and  lire  came  down  from  God  out  of  heaven  and  destroyed 
them. 


CIIAPTKR  XX.  289 

Tliis  feature  of  the  vision  is  inteiide.l  to  sl-ow  tlint  Satan 
will  continue  to  possess,  even  in  that  era  of  the  new  heaven 
and  the  new  earth,  the  same  incorrigible  animosity  and  hos- 
tility to  God  and  his  government  that  he  has  ever  manifested 
since  he  wast  cast  out  of  heaven  ;  and  after  being  restrained 
or  imi)risoned  a  thousand  years,  he  comes  forth  again  with 
his  hellish  and  unsubdued  vindictiveness  to  nmke  another 
effort  against  the  dominion  of  the  Almighty  in  the  new 
world.  The  prophet  represents  him  as  leading  uj)  an  embat- 
tled host,  whose  numl)ers  admit  of  no  comi)utation.  T/mi 
are  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  and  are  gathered  from  the  four  (piar- 
ters  of  the  earth. 

The  question  will  arise,  ''Where  will  Satan  gather  this 
"  countless  multitude  in  the  millennium  state  of  the  world  ?" 

If  the  prophet  meant  literally  an  organized  army,  it  would 
be  very  easy  to  show  where  he  might  muster  them.  It  would 
only  be  necessary  to  advert  to  the  great  multitude  whose 
position  will  be  on  the  left  hand,  and  who  will  be  ])anished 
into  outer  darkness  by  the  sentence  of  Christ  when  he  shall 
come  in  his  glory,  and  call  all  nations  before  him.  But,  if 
tKe  earth  and  all  that  is  in  it  is  literally  to  be  burned  up,  and 
the  righteous  only  will  escape  the  destruction  of  that  confla- 
gration, by  being  taken  up  above  the  "  fiery  void  ; "  then, 
indeed,  it  would  be  difficult  to  answer  the  question,  and  say 
where  this  gathering  of  Gog  and  Magog  will  be  made. 

After  those  who  are  Christ's  at  his  coming,  have  been 
separated  from  the  countless  millions  of  earth's  poi)ulation, 
there  will  remain  enough  to  meet  the  description  the  prophet 
gives  of  the  army  gathered  from  the  four  (juarters  of  the 
earth,  and  which  went  up  covering  the  breadth  of  the  earth, 
in  firm  plmlanx,  surrounding  the  camp  and  the  Ijcloved  city 
of  the  saints. 

These  powers  are  represented  as  being  deluded  or  deceived 
by  Satan,  and  drawn  by  him  into  this  d<'S})erate  enterprise 
against  the  dominion  of  Christ,  in  this  new  foru),  in  which  he 
reigns  over  his  sahits  in  the  kingdom  of  God.     The  result  is 

VOL.  II. — 13 


290  THE  APOCALYFSE  UX VEILED. 

tliat  this  wliolc  combination  of  powers  is  suddenly  destroyed 
by  fire  which  came  down  from  God  out  of  heaven. 

The  saints  are  not  represented  as  being  at  all  disturbed, 
or  alarmed  at  such  a  mighty  foe.  They  quietly  dwell  in  their 
beloved  city  and  are  at  peace  in  their  camp.  They  make  no 
preparations  to  meet  their  assailants  and  repel  the  assault, 
for  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  their  defense,  and  they  are  safe 
under  the  shields  of  Omnipotence. 

We  liave  only  to  substitute  moral  agencies  for  this  great 
embattled  host,  and  we  shall  approach  nearer  to  the  true 
meaning  of  the  prophet.  It  cannot  be  supposed  that  a  car- 
nal conflict  with  the  saints  is  meant,  after  they  had  dwelt  a 
thousand  years  in  their  glorified  state.  But  we  may  suppose, 
that  under  the  deceivings  of  Satan,  new  and  delusive  systems 
,of  a  religious  kind,  may  be  organized  in  opposition  to  the 
kingdom  of  the  saints.  New  doctrines  may  be  inculcated  in 
opposition  to  Christ's  government,  to  which  all  the  rejected 
nations  dwelling  in  outer  darkness  will  readily  give  their 
assent  and  zealous  cooperation,  in  the  vain  hope  that  they 
may  overthrow  the  glorious  kingdom,  the  presence  of  which 
serves  constantly  to  augment  their  wretchedness. 

It  may  well  be  supposed  that  Satau  would  devise  some 
such  scheme  for  the  purpose  of  directing  and  drawing  off  the 
saints  from  their  allegiance  to  Christ  in  his  kingdom.  His 
success  in  heaven  in  a  similar  effort  with  his  associate  angels, 
and  again  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  will  embolden  him  in  this 
new  ellbrt  to  overthrow  the  kingdom  of  Christ  ;  and  the  na- 
tions which  have  been  doomed  to  outer  darkness,  devoid  of 
happiness,  and  in  utter  despair  of  ever  being  raised  to  a  bet- 
ter state,  will  zealously  cooperate  in  any  organization  that 
promises  to  lessen  their  misery,  by  employing  their  powers 
even  in  doing  evil. 

But  this  effort  of  Satan  and  his  allies  against  the  govern- 
ment of  Christ  will  avail  nothing.  The  high  intelligence 
and  unimpeachable  character  of  the  saints  in  that  kingdom, 
cannot  l)e  effected  by  the  profoundest  arts  of  Satan's  deceiv- 


CHAPTER  XX.  201 

ings.  And  this  last  effort  of  tlio  uncliinio-caUle  adversary  of 
God  and  man  is  defeated,  and  the  whole  eonihination  is  over- 
wlielnied  in  a  deluge  of  fire,  falling  upon  them  from  (iotl,  out 
of  heaven,  and  devouring  them.  This  strong  figurative  lan- 
guage conveys,  in  the  most  forcible  manner,  the  utter  imjjos- 
sibility  that  any  scheme  of  Satan,  to  introduce  error  or  sin 
into  the  future  state,  or  the  next  world,  as  he  has  done  into 
this,  can  ever  succeed. 

The  Devil  and  his  angels  must  have  an  eternal  existence. 
They  have  been  ever  since  their  fall  from  heaven,  the  anta- 
gonistic powers  of  God  ;  and  they  have  been  actively  and 
incessantly  employed  in  promoting  rebellion  against  his 
government.  In  this  they  have  been  too  successful,  in  draw- 
ing man  away  from  his  allegiance  to  his  Creator.  The  Devil 
is  represented  as  going  about  like  a  roaring  lion,  seeking 
whom  he  may  devour,  and  he  has  enjoyed  a  malignant  satis- 
faction at  every  fresh  instance  of  success. 

It  seems  to  be  a  principle  of  the  moral  government  of  God 
over  the  world,  that  a  certain  degree  of  liberty  should  bo 
allowed  to  those  evil  spirits  ;  but  they  are  reserved  in  chdins, 
unto  judgment,  or  the  period  of  their  final  judgment.  They 
had  been  appointed  to  this  final  punishment  as  their  eternal 
state  ;  but,  until  the  time  of  the  execiUiun  of  this  sentence 
arrives,  they  are  somewhat  at  large,  and  at  times  appear  to 
exercise  a  fearful  extent  of  jjower.  Nevertheless,  they  are 
under  chains,  or  in  chains,  by  Omnipotent  ]>ower,  and  cannot, 
in  their  malignant  efforts,  exceed  the  length  of  their  chains  ; 
they  cannot  go  beyond  the  bounds  which  the  divine  govern- 
ment has  prescribed,  and  it  is  well  for  this  world  that  they 
cannot. 

But  we  are  now  approaching  a  new  form  of  the  divine 
government,  which  is  to  be  introduced  at  the  end  of  the 
thousand  years.  This  dispensation  of  the  government  of 
the  Almighty,  differs  from  all  others  that  have  preceded  it 
since  the  creation  of  man,  and  any  exercise  of  Satanic  power 
anywhere,  or  to  any  extent,  within   the   bounds   of  this  do- 


202  THE  APOCALYrSE  UNVEILED. 

million,  will  not  be  tolerated.  Xo  power  or  influence  adverse 
to  God  and  his  government,  can  be  exercised  or  exist,  when 
this  new  mode  of  the  divine  administration  commences — ■ 
hence  the  closing  event  of  the  thousand  years  is  the  casting 
of  the  Devil  into  the  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone,  where  the  beast 
and  the  false  prophet  are,  and  shall  be  tormented  day  and  night 
for  ever  and  ever.  Thus  the  power  of  Satan  to  interfere  with 
the  purposes  of  God  in  his  government  over  the  universe,  will 
cease  for  ever  in  the  unmitigated  punishment  implied  by  fire 
and  brimstone  ;  terms  which,  more  than  any  other  that  could 
be  employed,  convey  the  idea  of  intolerable  anguish. 

The  scriptures  nowhere  give  us  a  more  distinct  account  of 
the  duration  of  the  millennium  state  than  that  which  is  ex- 
pressed by  the  term,  a  thousand  years,  which  w^e  may  regard 
as  a  definite  period  used  only  to  express  an  indefinite  period 
of  tiine.  Its  actual  duration  is  alone  within  the  knowledge 
of  Him  with  whom  a  thousand  years  are  as  one  day,  and  one 
day  as  a  thousand  years.  It  is  of  no  consequence  to  us  to 
know  what  Avill  be  its  duration  ;  but  what  will  be  done  in 
that  state,  and  what  will  succeed  it,  are  subjects  of  revela- 
tion, and  as  such,  are  proper  for  man's  meditation  and  in- 
quiry. 

In  considering  this  part  of  the  divine  economy,  we  must 
first  attend  to  what  Christ  himself  says  about  it,,  and  then 
hear  what  liis  apostles  say. 

In  the  fifth  chapter  of  John's  gospel,  verses  21,  22,  Christ 
distinctly  announces  that  he  is  at  the  head  of  the  divine  gov- 
ernment over  man,  in  these  w^ords  :  For  as  the  Father  raiseth 
up  the  dead  and  quickeneth  them,  e\:en  so  the  Son  quickeneth 
whom  he  will.  For  the  Father  judgeth  no  man,  but  hath  com- 
mitted all  judgment  unto  the  Son. 

An  e(iuality  of  divine  power  with  the  Father,  as  manifested 
in  raising  the  dead,  is  asserted  in  these  words  ;  and  in  ad- 
ministering the  kingdom  of  God  over  men,  Christ  declares  him- 
self supreme,  l)ecause  all  judgment  hath  by  the  Father  been 
cuniniitted  to  him. 


CHAPTER  XX.  21)3 

These  fuiiduineutiil  principles  of  the  divine  govcrnn»eat 
rnust  refer  to  the  thousand  years'  rei,i?n,  since  the  resurrec- 
tion, or  the  renewed  state  of  man's  life,  takes  jihice  at  tlic 
coniniencement  of  that  state  ;  and  it  is  further  and  enii»hati- 
cally  declared  to  be  the  reign  of  Christ.  The  gospel  of  St. 
John  abounds  in  sayings  which  can  oidy  Ijc  understood  l)y  re- 
ferring them  to  that  period  when  the  full  glory  and  nuijesty 
of  Christ  will  be  manifested  in  the  kingdom  where  all  judg- 
ment will  be  committed  unto  the  Son. 

We  learn  something  more  particular  respecting  the  pecu- 
liar nature  and  design  of  the  reign  of  Christ  during  the  thou- 
sand years,  from  the  sayings  of  St.  Paul  in  the  fifteenth  chai)- 
ter  of  the  1st  Cor.,  the  24th  to  the  28th  verse,  inclusive.  It 
is  quite  clear  that  the  apostle,  iu  these  verses,  is  not  speaking 
of  the  gospel  dispensation. 

The  resurrection  of  Christ  is  first  asserted,  then  the  resur- 
rection of  them  who  had  fallen  asleep  in  Christ.  Christ  re- 
turns to  life  on  the  third  day  after  his  crucifixion,  as  the  first 
fruits  of  them  that  slept,  or  as  the  earnest  or  pledge  of  the 
renewed  existence  of  all  that  are  his  when  he  shall  come 
again. 

But  every  man  in  his  own  order,  says  the  apostle.  Christ 
the  first  fruits,  afterwards  they  that  are  Christ's  at  his  coming. 
This  introduces  the  millennium,  or  the  thousand  years'  king- 
dom— the  reign  of  Christ  with  his  saints  on  the  earth.  But 
this  kingdom,  like  the  gospel  kingdom,  also  has  its  limit— it 
comes  to  nn  end. 

The  end  of  this  millennium  kingdom  will  come  wlicn  the 
reign  of  Christ  shall  have  accorapHshed  all  that  was  to  be 
done  in  the  thousand  years,  having  put  down  all  rule,  and  all 
autliority,  and  all  power.  For  he  must  reign  until  he  has  put 
oil  enemies  under  his  feet.  No  one  properly  attentive  to  the 
scripture  account  of  the  close  of  the  gospel  dispensation,  will 
midertake  to  say  that  all  this  will  be  done  under  that  dispen- 
sation. The  close  of  the  gospel  dny,  as  Christ  himself  repre- 
sents it,  does  not  show  that  all  enemies  have  bceu  conquered 


0  94  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

and  Ijrouglit  under  his  authority  by  tlie  gospel.  But  he  speaks 
of  nations  who  were  his  enemies,  who  would  not  have  him  to 
reign  over  them,  by  his  Spirit,  in  the  gospel  day.  These  are 
banished  into  outer  darkness,  never  again  to  be  brought  un- 
der Christ's  reign,  neither  as  probationers,  or  the  subjects  of 
the  happy  government  of  Christ. 

But  the  true  meaning  of  the  apostle  probably  is  this,  that 
the  reign  of  Christ  will  continue  until  all  the  subjects  of  the 
millennial  reign  are  In'ought  into  the  perfect  knowledge  of 
God,  as  he  is  manifested  in  and  through  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  The  Jews  are  enemies  in  this  sense,  and  will  be 
brought  to  God  in  this  new  dispensation. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  the  almost  infinitely  varied  char- 
acter of  the  great  multitude  which  will  make  up  that  millen- 
nium kingdom.  The  prophet  labors  to  convey  some  idea  of 
that  vast  multitude  as  he  saw  them.  He  says  :  Aoid  the  mim- 
bcr  of  them  was  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand,  and  thousands 
of  thousands.  And  the  grand  acclamation  of  this  countless 
multitude  was,  as  he  heard  it  :  Thou  hast  redeemed  us  to  God 
by  thy  Mood  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and 
nation. — Rev.  chop.  5. 

What  a  vast  variety  of  intelligence  and  moral  action  must 
such  a  nmltitude  as  this  present  ;  gathered,  as  they  will  be, 
from  amongst  all  the  nations,  tongues  and  i)eople  of  the  earth. 
While  some  who  have  lived  in  the  light  of  the  gospel  dispen- 
sation show  their  superior  advantages  by  their  exalted  views 
of  God  and  his  government,  there  are  vast  numbers  whose 
moral  perceptions  of  the  same  subject,  and  their  crude  and 
ini})('rfect  attainments  in  religion,  scarcely  amount  to  any- 
thing more  than  the  lowest  grade  of  intellectual  life — like 
tlie  feeble  light  of  distant  and  scarcely  perceptible  stars. 
But  all  having,  with  humble  and  upright  purpose,  feared 
God  and  wrought  righteousness,  according  to  the  best  light 
they  had,  are  brought  into  that  kingdom  where  the  spirits 
of  the  just  inU  be  made  perfect. 

Over  all  this  mass  of  mind,  imperfect  and  deformed  by  ig- 


CHAPTER  XX.  295 

norance  and  error,  as  imicli  of  it  will  !>(>,  from  the  want  of 
better  light,  Christ  will  reign  ;  and  administer,  through  his 
saints  of  superior  rank  and  intelligence,  the  instruetion  in 
righteousness,  and  the  spiritual  influenees  which  will  finally 
expel  its  darkness  and  imbue  it  with  the  light  and  knowledge 
of  God  and  the  true  glory  of  man. 

All  error  and  ignorance  may  properly  be  considered  as  tlie 
enemies  of  God.  Almost  all  the  rule,  and  authority,  and 
power,  by  which  the  religion  of  Christ  is  obstructed  and 
opposed  amongst  men  in  the  world,  have  their  origin  in  ignor- 
ance of  God,  and  in  erroneous  views  of  his  government.  But 
we  frequently  see  much  ignorance  blended  with  great  sincerity 
of  heart,  and  very  erroneous  views  of  religion  dwelling  in 
minds  anxiously  desirous  to  be  always  acceptable  to  God. 
In  this  life  such  individuals  will  probably  remain  very  super- 
ficial in  their  knowledge  of  God,  and  very  shallow  in  their 
experience  of  those  manifestations  which  he  is  often  pleased 
to  make  to  his  people. 

But,  in  the  Millennium  kingdom  all  darkness  of  whatever 
kind  will  be  removed  from  the  mind,  by  the  pure  and  right- 
eous government  which  there  will  ever  l)e  instructing  and  ex- 
panding the  moral  and  intellectual  powers  of  man  ;  and 
where  nothing  vicious  or  sinful  can  ever  arise  to  obstruct  or 
counteract  its  happy  influence.  The  reign  of  Christ  will  put 
all  such  enemies  under  his  feet.  The  last  enemy  that  shall  U- 
destroyed  is  death  !  This  rather  confirms  what  has  been  said 
relative  to  the  meaning  of  the  term,  enemies.  Death  cannot 
be  said  to  be  an  active  opposing  power,  either  of  the  govern- 
ment of  God  or  his  attributes.  God  appointed  death — It  is 
appointed  once  for  man  to  die.  Death  is  an  enemy  only  to 
man  ;  he  is  represented  as  the  great  destroyer  of  the  human 
race.  This  power  of  destroying  life  will  cease — will  not  ])c 
known  in  the  millennium  reign — neither  can  they  die  any  more, 
is  given  by  Christ  as  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  those  who 
dwell  in  that  kingdom.  But  still  death  is  not  destroyed  ; 
he  holds  his  dark  dominion  over  the  millions  of  the  human 


296  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

race  tliat  nave  died  from  Adam  down  to  the  period  when 
the  thousand  years'  reign  will  commence.  All  these  must  be 
released — must  come  into  life  again  ;  then  shall  come  to  pass 
the  saying  lliat  is  written — Death  is  swalloiced  up  in  victory  ! 
referring  to  Isaiah,  chap.  25  :  8. 

This  final  overthrow  of  death's  dominion  will  take  place  at 
the  end  of  the  thousand  years,  when  "  the  rest  of  the  dead 
shall  rise,  and  who  did  not  rise  to  meet  Christ  at  his  second 
appearing  in  glory.  This  overthrow  of  the  last  enemy  will 
close  the  millennium  reign — the  last  enemy  that  shall  he  de- 
stroyed is  death !  When  this  enemy  is  destroyed,  and  "  Christ 
has  put  all  things  under  his  feet,  then  will  he  deliver  up  the 
kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father.  And  when  all  things  shall  he 
suhdued  unto  him,  then  shall  the  Son  also  himself  he  suhjed  unto 
him  that  put  all  things  under  him,  that  God  may  he  all  in  all. 

This  introduces  the  glory  and  majesty  of  the  highest  state 
of  man's  future  existence,  as  it  is  revealed  to  him  by  God. 
All  the  blessed  who  were  received  into  the  kingdom  of  the 
thousand  years,  under  the  reign  of  Christ,  will  be  prepared 
for  this  higher  state  of  glory,  when  the  kingdom  will  be  de- 
livered up  to  God,  even  the  Father. 

The  greatest  efforts  of  the  imagination  must  fall  infinitely 
short  of  a  full  apprehension  of  the  glory  of  man's  existence 
in  that  state.  Nothing  in  the  heavens  and  the  earth  in  the 
millennial  state,  will  afford  any  comparison  with  it.  These 
fled  away  and  no  [)lace  was  found  for  them,  says  the  prophet. 
The  great  white  throne  is  emblematic  of  the  grandeur  and 
purity  of  the  government  of  the  great  God,  over  all  and 
every  part  of  the  universe  to  which  he  has  given  existence 
by  his  own  omnipotence. 

This  rejiresentation  does  not  instruct  us  that  the  divine 
government  has  assumed  a  higher  and  holier  character  than 
that  which  distinguished  it  before  and  since  the  creation  of 
the  world.  God  is  unchangeable  in  his  perfection  and  attri- 
butes. But  it  teaches  us  that  man  has  reached  that  exalted 
state  of  purity  and  holiness  in  his  nature,  which  fits  him  for, 


CHAPTER  XX.  297 

and  elevates  him  to,  tliis  liiglier  approacli  to  God,  iunl  more 
familiar  acquaiutaiice  witli  tlie  unspoakabhi  glorii-s  of  iiis 
dominion. 

In  all  ages  of  the  world  God  has  had  comnmnications  with 
man  ;  and,  in  order  that  those  communications  might  be 
adapted  to  man's  very  imperfect  moral  and  spiritual  percci)- 
tions,  he  has  ever  employed  some  medium,  as  a  re^jrcsentation 
of  himself,  that  man  might  look  ui)on  and  converse  witii  him 
without  dread.  The  angel  of  Ids  'presence,  was  the  general 
designation  of  those  representations. 

Such  were  the  three  men  which  appeared  to  Abraham, 
and  partook  of  his  hospitalties  under  the  oak  of  Mamre. 
Jacob  held  communication  with  God  under  similar  appear- 
ances, particularly  at  the  memorable  struggle  by  the  brook 
Jabbok. 

God  spoke  to  Moses  out  of  the  burning  l)ush,  and  tlie 
journey  of  the  Israelites  was  frequently  marked  by  such  a[)- 
pearauces.  The  cloud  by  day  and  the  pillar  of  fire  by  uiglit 
were  constant  emblems  of  the  divine  presence. 

The  ark  of  the  Lord  became  the  standing  symbol  of  Jeho- 
vah's presence  in  the  Israelitish  camp,  and  continued  to  be 
so  with  the  tribes  after  they  had  entered  into  and  possessed 
the  land  of  Canaan. 

Such  also  was  the  angel  of  the  Lord  wliich  ai)poared  to 
Joshua,  in  the  form  of  a  man  of  war,  under  the  walls  of 
Jericho. 

In  all  those  manifestations  of  tlie  divine  })resenre  there  is 
a  perfect  adaptation  of  the  syml)ol  or  medium  of  comnumica- 
tion  to  the  time  and  circumstances  of  tlie  people  to  whom 
God  speaks  ;  and  in  none  is  such  a  iitness  more  clearly  and 
remarkably  visible  than  in  this  appearance  to  the  captain  V)f 
the  hosts  of  Israel.  Joshua  had  just  led  the  people  over 
Jordan,  and,  with  sword  in  hand,  proclaimed  his  purpose  of 
conquering  the  country  of  the  Canaanites. 

He  drew  up  his  forces  before  the  strong  walls  of  Jericho, 
perhaps  with  some  doubts  whether  he  would  be  able  to  carry 

VOL.  II. — 13* 


298  THE  A.POCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

a  city  so  strongly  fortified.  Just  then  there  appeared  before 
him  a  man  of  warlike  appearance,  precisely  such  as  Joshua 
•was  himself.  Joshua  soon  learned  that  this  was  not  a  mere 
man,  but  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  come  to  give  him  encourage- 
ment and  counsel  in  the  arduous  enterprise  he  had  under- 
taken. 

Passing  over  the  Jewish  economy,  in  which  the  prophets 
of  the  Most  High  stood  between  God  and  his  people  as  the 
channel  of  intercourse,  let  us  come  to  the  Christian  dispensa- 
tion. 

And  who  is  it  that  represents  God  in  this  dispensation  ? 
It  is  Jesus  Christ,  in  his  mysterious  character  of  the  God- 
man — God  manifested  in  the  flesh — Deity  veiled  in  hu- 
manity. He  took  upon  himself  the  form  of  a  servant,  and 
humbled  himself  to  the  condition  of  mortal  man,  that  men 
might,  through  him,  speak  to  God,  and  hear  God  speaking 
with  them. 

Christ  makes  the  way  of  access  to  God  the  Father  practi- 
cable and  easy  to  sinful  man,  who  never  could  approach  him 
with  entire  confidence  without  such  a  medium  or  mediator. 

Christ  will  continue  in  this  same  relation  to  men  even  in 
the  glorified  state  of  his  thousand  years'  reign  ;  for,  as  I 
have  before  remarked,  men  carry  with  them  out  of  this  world 
the  same  moral  and  spiritual  character  which  they  bore  in 
this  life,  and  there  must  be  the  same  infinite  distance  between 
them  and  an  infinitely  holy  God  when  they  enter  the  millennium 
state  as  there  was  when  they  left  the  body.  I  do  not  mean  that 
this  distance  between  God  and  his  people  is  a  distance  pro- 
duced ))y  sin  in  the  man  when  he  died  ;  but  it  arises  from  the 
feebleness  of  his  moral  powers  and  his  spiritual  ignorance 
even  in  the  highest  state  to  which  he  can  attain  by  grace  in 
this  life.  All  that  men  will  know  of  God  the  Father  in  the 
thousand  years'  reign  of  Christ,  will  be  through  Christ,  as 
the  medium  of  communication.  Although  man's  moral  powers 
will  ever  be  expanding,  and  his  conceptions  of  the  divine 
character  will  rise  higher  and  higher,  yet  until  he  attains  the 


CIlAl'TKR  X^.  01) I) 

perfection  to  which  it  is  the  express  purpose  of  tlifit  reif:cn  of 
Christ  to  raise  him,  lie  will  see  God  only  throu^rh  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

But  man  will,  in  the  proii-ross  which  his  moral  and  spiritual 
nature  is  to  make  in  the  millennium  state,  ultimately  reach 
that  perfection,  and  possess  such  a  glorious  expansion  of  pow- 
ers adapted  to  that  world,  as  will  place  him  upon  an  ccjuidily 
with  the  glorilied  nature  of  Christ  himself. 

This  I  take  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  apostle  when  lie  says: 
And  us  we  have  home  the  image  of  the  earthly,  we  shall  also  hear 
the  image  of  the  heavenly.  We  have  borne  in  our  body,  or 
earthly  life,  a  resemblance  to  Christ  in  his  humiliation,  so  we 
shall  bear  his  glorious  state — we  shall  resemble  him  in  his 
highest  state  of  moral  and  spiritual  perfection. 

Thus  man  will  be  raised  from  his  fallen  and  corrupt  nature; 
])eginning  with  the  work  of  grace  wrought  a\  him  here  and 
ju'ogressing  through  the  millennium  state;  he  will  be  changed 
into  the  image  of  Christ,  from  one  degree  of  glory  unto 
another,  as  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  until  he  reaches  that 
equality  with  Christ,  expressed  by  the  saying  of  the  apostle, 
when  he  speaks  of  what  we  shall  be — Heirs  of  God,  and  joint 
heirs  with  Christ.  This  expresses  the  idea  of  the  same  rela- 
tionship, which  Christ  as  a  Son,  holds  to  God  the  Father  ; 
and  an  equal  participation  in  the  glory  and  power  which  he 
will  receive  from  God  in  virtue  of  that  relationship.  No 
intervening  veil,  or  medium  between  God  and  man  will  then 
be  necessary.  Man  will  then  see  and  know  God  as  Christ 
sees  and  knows  him. 

This  exaltation  of  man  in  the  high  degree  of  perfection  to 
which  his  nature  will  be  raised,  brings  us  to  the  end  of  the 
thousand  years'  reign.  All  its  purposes  will  then  have  been 
accomplished,  when,  as  the  apostle  says,  Christ  has  put  all 
enemies  under  his  feet :  And  when  all  things  shall  he  suhdned 
unto  him.,  then  shall  the  Son  himself  be  subject  unto  him  that 
put  all  things  under  him;  that  God  may  he  all  in  all.  1  Vov. 
15  :  28. 


300  '-i^HE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

Having  put  all  things  under  liim,  Christ  now  delivers  up 
the  kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father.  The  redeemed  of 
mankind,  who  have  been  saved  by  Christ,  are  now  brought 
into  the  same  rehitionship  to  God  which  Christ  himself  holds. 
Tlie  purposes  of  his  mediatorial  appointment  having  all  been 
accomplished,  that  office  ceases,  and  henceforth  the  divine 
government  is  to  be  administered  by  God  himself.  This  is 
illustrated  by  the  great  white  throne,  and  him  that  sat  upon  it. 
The  proi)het  could  find  no  better  description  of  the  supe- 
riority and  glory  of  this  government  over  all  that  had  pre- 
ceded it,  than  that  which  he  gives  in  the  expression — From 
whose  face  the  heavens  and  the  earth  Jled  away,  and  there  teas 
found  no 'place  for  them.  A  figure  of  speech,  which  implies, 
that  man  will  then  be  raised  to  an  order  of  divine  govern- 
ment, the  glory  and  grandeur  of  which,  has  no  parallel  in 
any  state  that  he  ever  experienced  before.  From  its  presence, 
all  former  things  disappeared  and  fled  away. 

The  expression — Great  tchite  throne,  and  him  that  sat  on  it, 
from  whose  face  the  heavens  and  the  earth  fed  away,  appear  to 
be  terms  so  simple  and  plain,  that  we  are  ready  to  conclude 
nothing  very  remarkable  is  intended.  But  we  must  not 
judge  the  style  of  the  prophet  as  we  would  the  style  of  com- 
mon men  in  their  writings.  When  the  prophet  speaks  of  the 
great  subjects  of  his  vision,  just  in  proportion  as  they  rise 
and  swell  in  grandeur  and  magnificence,  in  the  same  propor- 
tion does  his  language  assume  the  most  simj^le  form. 

It  is  said,  in  the  fifth  verse  of  this  chapter  :  But  the  rest 
of  the  dead  lived  not  a gai7i  until  the  thousand  years  were  fin- 
ished. That  event  now  transpires,  and  the  prophet,  when  the 
great  white  throne  appears,  says  :  I  saw  the  dead,  small  and 
great,  stand  before  God,  and  the  looks  were  opened  ;  and  another 
hook  was  opened,  which  is  the  look  of  life ;  and  tJie  dead  were 
judged  out  of  those  things  lohich  were  written  in  the  looks 
according  to  their  ivorks. 

Opening  books,  and  names  written  in  books,  are  usual 
terms  connected  with  the  government  of  God  over  the  worl  J, 


CIIAPTKR  XX  301 

and  the  exercise  of  his  juf]<rmcnfs  upon  the  wicked.  They 
are  to  be  regarded,  of  course,  as  ri<:;urativc,  and  intended  to 
convey  the  idea  of  God's  Omniscience!  that  he  knows  as 
perfectly  all  the  acts  of  men  as  if  they  were  written  in  a 
book.  Our  courts  of  law  would  be  very  imi)erfect  if  the 
business  upon  which  they  acted  was  not  recorded  in  the 
books  ;  much  would  be  forgotten,  and  the  api>lieation  of  the 
laws  would  often  be  erroneous  and  unjust.  I>ut,  being  matter 
of  record,  all  proceedings  based  upon  what  is  written  in  the 
books,  every  one  is  satisfied  that  the  judgment  or  sentence 
of  the  courts,  is  just  and  right. 

The  divine  government,  when  the  great  white  throne  ap- 
pears, will  not  admit  of  the  existence  of  any  power  hostile  to 
its  purity  or  its  laws.  Hence  a  final  disposition  will  then  be 
made  of  all  the  ungodly  part  of  mankind,  as  well  as  all  the  spi- 
ritual powers  combined  against  God.  These  are  distinguished 
by  the  terms — death  and  hell.  These,  with  all  who  were  not 
found  written  in  the  book  of  life,  were  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire. 

The  term  judged,  evidently  means  in  this  transaction — 
punished :  consigned  to  everlasting  woe,  as  is  usual  in  speak- 
ing of  the  state  of  final  punishment,  by  the  term — lake  of 
fire.     This  is  the  second  death. 

It  was  said  of  all  those  who  had  a  part  in  the  first  resur- 
restion — on  such  the  second  death  hath  no  'power.  These  are 
they  who  are  written  in  that  book  of  life  spoken  of  by  the 
prophet.  In  the  twelfth  verse,  he  says  :  and  the  hooks  were 
opened.  These  refer  to  the  mighty  throng,  which  now,  after 
the  thousand  years,  live  again,  and  to  the  si)irits  denomiinitcd 
death  and  hell.  But  there  was  another  book,  distinguished 
from  these  already  named,  and  by  way  of  eminence,  called 
the  hook  of  life.  This  is  the  record  of  all  who  reigned  with 
Christ  in  his  thousand  years'  reign.  These  were  not  subjects 
of  the  judgment;  but  whosoever  was  not  found  written  in 
this  book  of  Hfe  was  cast  into  the  fire. 

And  death  and  hell  delivered  up  the  dead  which  were  in  them. 
This  precisely  meets  the  impious  declaration  of  French  A  the- 


302  I'HE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

ism,  uttered  by  her  priestliood  when  the  smoke  of  the  bottom- 
less pit  broke  out,  darkening  the  sun  and  the  air. — (chap.  9  : 
verse  2.)  Tlie  wild  uproar  of  religious  and  civil  anarchy 
which  distinguislied  the  French  Revolution,  assailed  the 
throne  of  God,  and  threatened  the  subversion  of  all  civil  gov- 
ernment. 

"  Death  is  an  eternal  sleep,"  became  the  popular  sentiment 
with  the  French  nation,  under  the  intoxication  produced  by 
the  wine  of  abominations^  with  which  the  woman  drugged 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth. 

Tlie  moral  delirium  produced  by  the  corruptions  of  the 
Romish  Church  reacted  with  terrible  effect.  The  church  fell 
with  the  civil  government,  and  merged  her  corruptions  in  the 
ferocious  principles  of  the  revolution. 

This  combination  of  civil  and  religious  anarchy  was  death 
to  religion  and  morality.  But  death  shall  deliver  up  the 
dead  that  are  in  it  when  the  great  white  throne  appears. 

And  hell,  too,  shall  deliver  up  the  dead  which  are  in  it. 
Hell  signifies  opposition  to  the  government  of  God  ;  hence 
the  promise  of  Christ  to  his  church — The  'powers  of  hell  shall 
not  prevail  against  thee. 

All  this  death  and  hell  shall  deliver  up  their  powers,  their 
influence,  and  shall  l)e  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire — shall  be  ban- 
ished forever  from  the  dominion  of  Him  that  sits  upon  the 
great  white  throne. 

There  is  another  delivery  of  the  dead  mentioned  by  the 
propliet,  and  that  is  from  the  sea.  And  the  sea  gave  up  the 
dead  that  were  in  it.  The  sea  has  no  sort  of  relation  to  denth 
and  hell  as  enemies  to  God  and  his  government.  But  it 
seems  to  be  referred  to  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  the  parti- 
cular effect  produced  upon  the  mind  by  the  loss  of  friends  on 
tlie  sea. 

When  our  friends  die  with  us,  and  we  follow  them  to  tlie 
toml),  and  see  them  deposited  in  the  calm  and  peaceful  shades 
of  the  cemetery,  our  affections  may  hover  over  their  tomb, 
and  consecrate  the  spot  where   they  repose  with  such  em- 


CHAPTER  XX.  303 

blems  as  best  suit  the  cliorisluHl  renicnibranco  of  tlicir  love 
and  virtues.  But  when  a  friend  is  connnitted  to  tlie  l)o.soiii 
of  the  ocean,  we  know  not  wiiere  lie  lies  ;  we  feel  that  he  is 
lost  indeed.  In  vain  we  look  for  the  place  of  his  repose — in 
vain  we  follow  the  course  of  the  ship  from  whose  deck  he  was 
consigned  to  the  deep,  and  ask,  is  he  here  ?  or  is  he  there  ? 
The  sorrowing  heart  hears  no  response  but  the  hurling  tem- 
pest and  the  surging  billows. 

The  ocean  gives  no  account  to  man  of  the  dead  that  have 
descended  into  its  depths.  But,  oh  I  thou  oblivious  sea,  al- 
though man  cannot  search,  God's  all-seeing  eye  looks  through 
thy  abyss  ;  and  when  his  voice  shall  call  the  rest  of  the  dead 
to  life  again,  its  thunders  shall  echo  through  thy  profoundest 
caverns,  and  the  sea  shall  give  up  the  dead  that  are  in  it. 

We  Jiave  been  conducted  by  a  succession  of  visions,  un- 
folded to  the  view  of  the  prophet,  to  the  utmost  limits  to  which 
revelation  points  in  the  future  history  of  man's  exaltation 
and  glory. 

The  two  closing  chapters  of  the  Apocalypse  are  chiefly 
employed  in  giving  symbolical  descriptions  of  the  perfect  and 
happy  state  of  the  righteous  in  heaven.  In  doing  this,  the 
prophet  combines  beauty,  riches,  and  grandeur,  to  an  extent 
almost  overwhelming.  The  appetite  for  these  things  is  insa- 
tiable in  man,  and  for  this  reason  they  arc  ai)i)ropriate,  as 
sensible  objects,  to  impart  to  our  minds  the  highest  concep- 
tion which  we  are  now  capable  of  entertaining  of  the  infinite 
pleasures  of  the  heavenly  state.  No  man  can  form  any  idea 
of  happiness  in  the  abstract.  He  cannot  think  of  it  without 
forming  in  his  mind  the  image  of  some  sensible  object  calcu- 
lated to  impart  happiness. 

When  Christ  spoke  to  the  people  of  the  operation  of  the 
Spirit  and  the  joys  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  always  employed 
sensible  objects  to  illustrate  his  subject.  If  he  had  not  done 
so,  the  people  could  not  have  comprehended  his  meaning. 
And  so  with  the  prophet.  After  bringing  us-  to  the  appear- 
ing of  the  great  white  throne   and  him  that  sat  on  it,  from 


304  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

whoso  face  the  earth  and  the  heaven  fled  away,  if  he  had  left 
us  there  without  any  description  of  that  state,  we  should 
have  been  bewildered  rather  than  instructed.  But  he  pro- 
ceeds in  the  two  closing  chapters  of  his  vision  to  illustrate 
that  state,  when  man  will  enjoy  the  fruition  of  the  glory 
which  will  be  his  inheritance  as  an  heir  of  God  and  joint  heir 
with  Christ. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  HOLY  CITY,   OR  HEAVEXLY  JERUSAI,KM. 

1.  And  I  saw  a  neio  heaven  and  a  new  earth  :  for  the  first 
heaven  and  the  first  earth  were  passed  away  ;  and  there  was  no 
more  sea. 

2.  And  I  John  saw  the  holy  city,  new  Jerusalem,  coming  down 
from  God  out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her 
husband. 

3.  And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven,  saying,  Behold, 
the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and  he  will  dwell  with  them, 
and  they  shall  be  his  people,  and  God  himself  shall  be  with  them, 
and  be  their  God. 

4.  And  God  shall  wipe  away  all  fears  from  their  eyes  ;  and 
there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor  crying,  neither 
shall  there  be  any  more  pain:  for  the  former  things  are  pat.sed 
away. 

5.  And  he  that  sat  upon  the  throne  said.  Behold,  I  make  all 
things  nevK  And  he  said  unto  me,  Write  :  for  these  words  are 
true  and  faithful. 

6.  And  he  said  unto  me.  It  is  done.  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega, 
the  beginning  and  the  end:  Twill  give  unto  him  that  is  athirst 
of  the  fountain  of  the  water  of  life  freely. 

1.  lie  that  over  Cometh  shall  inherit  all  things  ;  and  I  will  be 
his  God,  and  he  shall  be  my  son. 

8.  But  the  fearful,  and  unbelieving,  and  the  abominable,  and 
murderers,  and  whoremongers,  and  sorcerers,  and  idolaters,  and 
all  liars,  shall  have  their  part  in  the  lake  which  burnclh  with 
fire  and  brimstone :  which  is  the  second  death. 


306  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

The  first  delineation  tlic  prophet  gives  of  the  scenes 
^vhieh  we  are  now  entering  upon  are  physical,  relating  to  the 
heaven,  the  earth,  and  the  sea.  He  had  said  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  in  his  description  of  the  appearance  of  the  great 
white  throne,  from  the  face  of  himself  that  sat  upon  it,  the 
heaven  and  the  earth  fed  away,  and  there  was  no  place  found 
for  them. 

The  present  act  in  the  great  prophetic  drama  opens  with 
a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,  for  the  first  heaven  and  tlie  first 
earth  were  passed  away,  reaffirming  what  he  had  said  on  that 
sul)ject  in  the  preceding  chapter.  The  new  heaven  and  new 
earth  now  spoken  of  is,  probably,  something  far  beyond  that 
change  referred  to  by  St.  Peter,  where  he  says  :  Nevertheless, 
we  look  for  new  heavens  and  new  earth,  wherevri  dwelleth  righteous- 
ness. Tliis  simple  fact,  that  righteousness  will  be  predomi- 
nant, seems  to  be  the  chief  distinction  in  St.  Peter's  new 
heaven  and  new  earth.  Tn  the  kingdom  referred  to  by  St. 
Peter,  Christ  sat  upon  the  throne  and  reigned  a  thousand 
years.  But  when  that  state  ends,  and  Christ  delivers  up  the 
Hngdom  to  God,  even  the  Father,  then  the  heaven  and  the 
earth  fled  away,  and  all  things  were  m.ade  new  l)y  him  that 
sat  upon  the  great  white  throne. 

Tliere  is  a  remarkable  gradation  in  the  divine  government, 
showing  three  distinct  stages.  There  is  first,  the  government 
under  the  gospel  dispensation,  by  the  ministration  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  ;  secondly,  the  reign  of  Christ  in  the  thousand  years  ; 
and  thirdly,  the  great  white  throne,  when  the  kingdom  will 
be  delivered  up  to  God  the  Father. 

In  these  sublime  visions  of  the  prophet,  we  may  well  sup- 
pose that  he  would  employ  symbolical  language  on  many  sub- 
jects, for  there  are  many  of  his  visions  which  he  could  not 
adai)t  to  our  feeble  ai)prehension  without  such  language. 

1  have  already  said,  that  the  expression,  from  whose  face 
the  heaven  and  the  earth  fed  aicay,  implied  no  more  than  that 
a  great  change  had  taken  place  in  the  constitution  and  laws 
of  the  material  universe,  rendering  them  so  much  more  glori- 


CHAPTER  XXI  307 

ous  than  their  former  state  was,  that  tlu'  precodiii.u-  licaveii 
and  eartli  woukl  be  quite  forgotten.  But  still  the  earth  ex- 
ists, and  will  continue  to  exist  and  be  the  theater  of  man's 
glorious  existence,  even  in  the  highest  state  of  his  perfec- 
tion, as  far  as  it  is  revealed  to  us  in  the  volume  of  iiir^pira- 
tion. 

There  is  no  annihilation  of  this  earth,  either  by  water  or  by 
fire.  There  are  great  changes  through  which  the  earth  and 
its  immediate  heavens  will  pass,  we  must  sup})Ose  from  the 
repeated  declarations  of  scripture  ;  but  all  these  changes  will 
tend  to  purify  it,  and  increase  and  perfect  its  beauty  and 
grandeur. 

In  the  new  earth,  of  wiiich  the  prophet  is  now  si)eaking, 
there  was  no  more  sen.  Some  writers  have  regarded  this  as  a 
figurative  expression,  simply  designed  to  convey  the  idea  that 
all  discord  and  commotion  will  cease  in  that  world,  as  the 
sea  is  emblematical  of  turmoil  and  confusion. 

But  the  prophet  certainly  means  a  literal  heaven  and 
earth  ;  and  as  he  speaks  of  the  sea  in  connection  with  these, 
I  am  constrained  to  receive  what  he  says  of  the  sea  as  literal 
also. 

Those  mighty  oceans  which  now  produce  the  great  geo- 
graphical distinctions  of  the  earth,  and  keep  nations  estranged 
from  each  other,  and  acting  as  barriers  against  the  ])ractical 
exercise  of  those  sympathies  of  man's  nature,  which  seem 
designed  by  the  Creator  to  bind  the  whole  earth  in  one  close 
and  common  brotherhood  of  affection,  will  no  longer  exist. 
The  elements  which  in  their  chemical  combination  now  com- 
pose these  great  seas,  will  become  dissolved,  and,  under  new 
combinations,  will  enter  into  different  formations,  more  con- 
genial with  that  state  of  man's  existence. 

The  next  object  in  the  vision  is  announced  by  the  prophet 
with  remarkal)le  emphasis  :  And  I  John  saw  the  hohj  dtij,  new 
Jerusalem,  coming  down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  prepared  as 
a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband.  This  represents  the  church 
when  the  spirits  of  all  the  just  are  made  perfect  iu  the  thou- 


308  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

sand  years'  rci!2:ii  of  Clirist,  and  the  kingdom  is  prepared  to 
be  delivered  up  to  God  the  Fatlier. 

Tiio  description  of  this  city  is  not  entered  upon  imme- 
diately, but  is  deferred  until  he  gets  through  with  his  gene- 
ral descrii)tion  of  what  he  saw  and  heard  of  the  state  of  the 
blessed  in  that  new  earth. 

lie.  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven — that  is,  one  universal 
expression  of  peace  and  joy  proclaimed  that  the  tabernacle 
of  God  is  with  men  ;  and  he  dwells  with  them  in  such  fami- 
liar and  intimate  intercourse,  that  the  consciousness  of  their 
own  being  is  not  stronger  than  the  consciousness  that  God 
dwells  with  them  and  is  their  God. 

And  God  shall  ivijpe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes;  and 
there  shall  he  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying,  neither 
shall  there  he  any  more  pain. 

It  is  impossible  for  mortal  man  fully  to  conceive  of  such  a 
state  of  existence  as  these  expressions  imply.  A  man  counts 
himself  hap})y  in  this  life  if  one  day  passes  without  the  occur- 
rence of  some  event  that  wrings  his  heart  with  anguish,  or 
draws  the  tear  of  sorrow  from  his  eyes.  But  these  days  of 
sorrow  belong  to  the  present  times — to  flesh  and  blood.  They 
will  all  pass  awaj,  the  great  voice  said,  for  the  former  things 
arc  passed  away.  Not  a  vestige  of  the  grief  and  sorrow 
known  to  the  former  earth  will  be  known  in  this. 

And  he  tliat  sat  upon  the  throne  said  :  Behold  1  ma  Ice  all 
all  things  new — suitable  to  the  perfection  and  glory  of  that 
state  to  which  man's  nature  will  then  be  raised.  The  prophet, 
aniiized  at  the  grandeur  and  magnificence  of  everything  he 
beheld,  was,  prol)ably,  too  much  lost  in  wonder  and  astonish- 
ment, to  think  about  wTiting  down  what  he  saw.  But  he  is 
commanded  to  write  them.  Let  the  whole  church  hear  them! 
Spread  them  out  Ijcfore  the  eyes  of  the  surviving  people  of 
God,  who  are  struggling  against  the  powers  of  darkness, 
and  the  corruptions  of  earth  ;  that  they  may  be  inspired  with 
a  sacred  ardor,  and  emboldened  with  a  holy  courage,  wiiile 
they  look  upon  the  blissful  result  of  their  contest.      Write! 


CHAPTKR  XXL  309 

and  assure  my  saints  in  the  eartli  tliat  these  words  [or  these 
things]  arc  true  and  faithful.  They  are  no  fiction — none  of 
those  delusive  phantoms  which  the  world  holds  out  as  linj)})!- 
ness,  which  only  deceive  and  disappoint  men. 

6.  And  he  said  unto  me,  It  is  dune!  The  volume  of  llevcla- 
tion  is  completed  ;  there  is  nothing  beyond  this  state  in  man's 
future  glory  that  could  be  brought  within  his  comi)rehension, 
even  by  any  possibility  of  syml)olical  ilhistration.  All 
emanations  from  the  eternal  world  cease  with  the  vision  of 
the  heavenly  Jerusalem.  All  that  man  can  know,  until  he 
reaches  that  glorious  state,  is  now  made  known  to  him — the 
work  of  revelation  is  done  !  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega.  I  was 
before  all  things.  I  spake  and  worlds  came  into  existence.  I 
commanded  and  they  stood  fast.  I  am  the  same  now  at  the  end 
of  all  things ;  [and  by  the  same  Almighty  power]  /  now 
make  all  things  neu\ 

I  will  give  2m  to  him  that  is  a  thirst,  of  the  fountain  of  the 
water  of  life— freely.  A  beautiful  figure  of  speech — expres- 
sive of  the  fullness  and  uninterruptible  state  of  the  bliss, 
which  is  reserved  for  the  righteous  in  the  presence  of  God. 

Here,  from  the  very  nature  of  man's  existence — his  indis- 
pensible  relation  to  the  things  of  this  world,  he  can,  at  most, 
catch  only  a  hasty  draught  from  the  secret  stream  which 
meanders  its  way  for  him  into  this  world  from  the  great 
fountain ^bove.  Crowded  and  urged  on  by  duties  and  trials, 
by  cares  and  anxieties,  he  can  only  sip  as  he  goes  ;  but  in 
that  heavenly  Jerusalem,  he  will  calmly  sit  and  drink  from 
the  fountain  of  heavenly  io\^— freely — abundantly! 

He  that  overcometh  shall  inherit  all  things.  Tiiere  is  a 
striking  harmony  between  the  sayings  of  our  Lord  in  his 
sermon  on  the  mount  and  these  words  of  the  great  voice 
heard  by  the  i^rophQi— Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart  for  they 
shall  see  God— our  Savior  said.  The  words  of  the  great  voice 
are  the  echo  of  this  say mg;— Behold  the  tabernacle  of  God  is 
with  men,  and  he  will  dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall  he  his 
people.     Blessed  are  the  meek  for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth— 


310  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

are  the  words  of  Christ.  The  great  voice  responds — He 
that  overcometh  shall  inherit  all  things. 

We  sometimes  hear  ministers  of  the  gospel  announce  this 
saying  of  Christ — Tlie  meek  shall  inherit  the  earth,  as  a  text 
for  their  discourse,  and  twist  and  torture  scripture,  and  turn 
it  and  common  sense  too,  almost  upside  down,  to  show  that 
the  meek  do  really  inherit  the  earth  now  !  While  many,  per- 
haps, who  listen  to  their  perversion  of  the  text,  are  at  the 
very  time  destitute  of  food  convenient  for  their  bodily  wants, 
and  the  necessary  raiment  to  clothe  themselves  with,  or  the 
most  common  shelter  to  protect  them  from  the  blasts  of  the 
wintry  storm.  To  such  people,  having  no  better  teachers, 
the  gospel  must  ever  remain  an  inexplicable  mystery. 

Besides,  the  notorious  fact,  that  many  of  the  meek,  the 
most  Immble  of  God's  people  in  this  world,  are  in  the  most 
necessitous  circumstances,  suffering  hunger  and  almost  naked- 
ness. The  words  of  Christ  are  not — blessed  are  the  meek 
for  they  do  inherit  the  earth  ;  but  he  said  they  shall  inherit 
the  earth. 

This  and  many  other  like  declarations  of  our  Lord,  cau 
have  no  fulfillment  in  this  present  earth  ;  it  is  in  the  new 
earth,  and  in  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  where  all  these  pros- 
pective possessions  are  realized. 

Now  let  us  go  with  the  prophet,  and  behold  the  glorious 
city — the  heavenly  Jerusalem — the  symbol  of  the  future 
possession  of  the  saints. 

I  shall  not  disturb  the  scene  of  glory  now  about  to  spread 
out  Ijefore  us  by  dwelling  upon  the  op})osite  picture  of  the 
eighth  verse  :  Let  him  whose  conscience  tells  him,  Thow  art 
the  man!  take  timely  warning  and  seriously  ponder  the 
solemn  declarations  of  that  verse. 

9.  And  there  came  unto  me  one  of  the  seven  angels  which  had 
the  seven  vials  full  of  the  seven  last  plagues,  and  talked  with 
me,  saying.  Come  hither,  I  will  shoio  you  the  bride,  the  LamVs 
wife. 

10.  And  he  carried  me  away  in  the  spirit  to  a  great  and 


CIIAPTKR  XXL  311 

high  mountain,  and  shewed  me  that  great  city,  the.  liohj  Jrni.m- 
le?fi,  descending  out  of  heaven  from  God, 

11.  Having  the  glory  of  God:  and  her  light  was  like  unto 
a  stone  most  precious,  even  like  a  jasper-stove,  clear  as  crystal : 

12.  And  had  a  wall  great  and  high,  and  had  twelve  gates, 
and  at  the  gates  twelve  angels,  and  names  written  thereon,  which 
are  the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel. 

13.  On  the  east,  three  gates  ;  on  the  north,  three  gates;  on 
the  south,  three  gates  ;  and  on  the  west,  three  gates. 

14.  And  the  wall  of  the  city  had  twelve  foundations,  and  in 
them  the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  of  the  Lamb. 

15.  And  he  that  talked  icith  me  had  a  golden  reed  to  measure 
the  city,  and  the  gates  thereof,  and.  the  wall  thereof. 

16.  And  the  city  lieth  four-square,  and  the  length  is  as  large 
as  the  breadth.  And  he  measured  the  city  icith  the  reed,  twelve 
thousand  furlongs  ;  the  length,  and  the  breadth,  and  the  height 
of  it  are  equal. 

IT.  And  he  measured  the  wall  thereof,  an  hundred  and  forty 
and  four  cubits,  according  to  the  measure  of  a  man,  that  is,  of 
the  angel. 

18.  And  the  building  of  the  ivall  of  it  was  of  jasper  :  and 
the  city  was  pure  gold,  like  unto  dear  glass. 

19.  And  the  foundations  of  the  ivall  of  the  city  were  garnished 
with  all  manner  of  precious  stones.  The  first  foundation  was 
jasper;  the  second,  sapphire;  the  third,  a  chalcedony;  the 
fourth,  an  emerald : 

20.  The  fifth,  sardonyx;  the  sixth,  sardius ;  the  seventh, 
chrysolite  ;  the  eighth,  beryl;  the  ninth,  a  topaz  ;  the  tenth,  a 
chrysoprasus ;  the  eleventh,  a  jacinth;  the  twelfth,  an  ame- 
thyst. 

21.  And  the  twelve  gates  were  twelve  pearls;  every  several 
gate  was  of  one  pearl:  and  the  street  of  the  city  was  pure  gold, 
as  it  ivere  transparent  glass. 

22.  And  I  saw  no  temple  therein :  for  the  Lord  God  Almighty 
and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple  of  it. 

23.  And  the  city  had  no  need  of  the  sun,  neither  of  tfic  moon, 


312  THE  APOCALYPSE  UX VEILED. 

to  shine  in  it ;  for  the  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it,  and  the 
Lomh  is  rhc  light  thereof. 

24.  And  the  nations  of  them  which  are  saved  shall  walk  in 
the  light  of  it :  and  the  kings  of  the  earth  do  bring  their  glory 
and  honor  into  it. 

25.  And  the  gates  of  it  shall  not  be  shut  at  all  by  day  ;  for 
there  shall  be  no  night  there. 

26.  And  they  shall  bring  the  glory  and  honor  of  the  nations 
into  it. 

27.  And  there  shall  in  no  ivise  enter  into  it  anything  that 
dcfdeth,  neither  whatsoever  worketh  abomination,  or  maketh  alie; 
but  they  ichich  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life. 

In  the  ninth  verse,  the  prophet  tells  us  that  one  of  the 
seven  angels  who  poured  the  vials  of  wrath  upon  the  former 
earth,  now  becomes  the  expounder  of  the  scenes  in  the  new 
earth. 

He  carried  me  aicay  in  the  spirit  to  a  great  and  high  moun- 
tain. The  prophet  guards  us  against  falling  into  the  error 
of  giving  a  literal  sense  to  those  magnificent  scenes  he  is  about 
to  describe,  by  the  remark,  he  carried  me  away  in  the  spirit. 
We  are,  therefore,  to  understand  what  follows  in  a  spiritual 
sense. 

And  he  showed  me  that  great  city,  the  holy  Jerusalem.,  descend- 
ing out  of  heaven  from  God.  I  will  just  remark  here,  as  ap- 
propriate to  what  I  have  said  on  a  previous  occasion,  that 
these  cities,  frequently  spoken  of  in  the  Apocalypse,  are  of 
various  signification. 

In  the  eleventh  chapter  it  is  said,  as  the  effect  of  the  great 
earthquake,  that  a  tenth  part  of  the  city  fell.  And  in  the 
sixteenth  chapter  it  is  said  :  And  the  great  city  was  divided 
into  three  parts,  and  the  cities  of  the  nations  fd I,  as  a  conse- 
quence also  of  what  is  called  a  great  earthquake.  And 
again  in  the  eighteenth  chapter,  in  describing  the  desolations 
of  Inibylon,  the  jx'ople  are  represented  as  bewailing  her 
overthrow,  saying,  Alas!  alas!  that  great  city,  Babylon,  that 
mighty  city,  for  in  one  hour  is  thy  judgment  come. 


CliAlTKR  X\I.  ;jj;i 

So  that  we  are  to  infer  the  true  cliaractcr  of  the  city 
spolven  of  by  the  qualifying  circumstauces  coiinected  witli  its 
history,  or  the  description  given  uf  it. 

The  city  now  under  description  has  its  distinctive  cliaractcr 
in  these  peculiarities.  It  is  the  holy  Jerusalem,  f/esrendimr  out 
of  heaven  from  God,  having  the  glory  of  God,  kc. 

A  more  minute  description  of  the  city,  and  its  walls  and 
interior  arrangements,  occupy  the  remaining  portion  of  this 
twenty-first  cha})ter. 

This  account  which  the  prophet  gives  of  the  city,  beginning 
at  the  tenth  verse  and  ending  with  the  chapter,  is  a  descrij)- 
tion  so  graphic  that  any  remark  upon  it  would  seem  to  bo 
superfluous.  But  still  its  riches  and  si)lcndor  invite,  at  least, 
an  expression  of  the  pleasure  with  which  the  contemplation 
of  it  must  inspire  every  mind. 

The  whole  city,  as  the  prophet  saw  it,  was  covered  with 
and  reflected  a  light  of  unspeakable  purity  and  brightness — 
a  light  undimmed  by  shadow,  ajid  before  which  the  sun  was 
rayless,  and  the  night  was  lost  in  its  effulgence.  Tlie  wall 
surrounding  the  city  was  great  and  high,  having  twelve  gates, 
and  twelve  angels  occupying  their  positions  at  those  gates. 
Knowing  that  angels  and  archangels  once  fell  from  heaven 
and  lost  their  happiness  forever,  this  great  and  high  wall, 
guarded  at  its  gates  by  heavenly  sentinels,  is  the  representa- 
tion of  the  perpetuity  of  the  bliss  of  those  who  dwell  in  the 
city,  and  the  security  against  the  introduction  of  any  enemy 
to  its  peace.  No  such  fall  as  that  of  the  angels  will  ever  be 
possible  amongst  the  redeemed  in  heaven. 

This  city  is  altogether  symbolical,  and  each  of  its  diffcr'Mit 
features  has  a  separate  and  distinct  signification.  Its  walls 
bear,  in  their  structure,  the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  re- 
presenting the  Christian  Church.  The  twelve  gates  have  in- 
scribed on  them  the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  and  signify  the  Jewish  Church,  both  now 
united,  and  forming  the  heavenly  Jerusalem.  Properly  speak- 
ing, it  cannot  be  said  there  are  gates  in  a  wall  until  the  wall 

VOL.  II. — 14 


314  THE  AFOCALYrSE  UNVEILED. 

has  been  completed,  and  afterward  the  gates  are  set  up. 
Tliis  figure  accords  with  the  opinion  suggested  in  a  previous 
chapter,  that  the  Jews  who  renounce  the  Cliristian  economy 
will,  after  that  dispensation  has  been  completed,  enter  into 
life  through  the  recognition  of  its  fundamental  doctrine,  viz.: 
that  Christ  is  the  Messiah,  and  that  salvation  to  man  is 
through  his  atonement. 

The  number  of  the  gates,  being  three,  in  each  angle  of 
the  wall,  may  represent  the  three  dispensations,  in  all  which 
the  children  of  Abraham  have  been  distinguished — the  Pa- 
triarchal, the  Mosaic,  and  the  Christian  dispensation.  In  the 
two  former,  they  alone  were  the  depositories  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  true  God  ;  and  in  the  latter,  their  zeal  for  God  was 
none  the  less ;  but  it  was  not  according  to  knowledge,  as 
St.  Paul  says.  It  was  not  consistent  with  God's  plan,  and 
they,  in  opposing  the  Christian  economy,  stumbled.  Out  of 
these  three  dispensations,  the  tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel 
have  access  to  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  through  the  gates  of 
the  wall  of  the  city. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Jews  are  scattered  abroad  even 
to  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth.  They  mingled  with  all  na- 
tions, and  are  the  oppressed  and  down-trodden  in  all  lands  ; 
but  from  all  quarters  of  the  earth  they  will  come  to  the  great 
city,  the  holy  Jerusalem.  This  idea  is  expressed  by  three 
gates  on  the  north,  three  on  the  south,  and  an  equal  number 
on  the  west  and  on  the  east,  opening  out  to  the  four  quar- 
ters of  the  earth. 

The  measurement  of  the  city  by  the  angel  shows  the 
equality  of  its  dimensions,  the  length,  and  breadth,  and  hight, 
being  the  same,  and  it  lieth  four  square.  This  can  hardly 
be  supposed  to  imply  anything  else  than  equality  amongst 
the  subjects  of  that  heavenly  world.  None  of  those  distinc- 
tions known  to  earth,  which  too  pften  exalt  vice  and  depress 
virtue,  will  obtain  there.  The  only  distinction  there  will  be 
acquired  by  the  development  of  man's  intellectual  powers,  in 
wliich  all  will  engage  without  restraint  or  disability  arising 


CIIAPTKll  XXI.  315 

from  any  law  of  that  government  favoring  one  more  and  :in- 
other  less. 

The  city  lidh  four  square,  im})lies  tliat  in  all  its  nppoint- 
ments,  in  its  whole  economy,  there  is  universal  harmony  and 
perfection. 

It  may  sound  very  strange  to  the  ears  of  some  to  talk  of 
law  and  government  in  heaven.  But  they  should  know  that 
man,  in  his  heavenly  state,  will  be  as  urich  a  subject  of  law 
under  the  divine  government  as  he  is  here  on  earth.  His 
future  happiness  there,  no  less  than  h^re,  requires  that  he 
should  be  a  subject  of  law.  Without  it,  the  heavenly  state 
would  become  monotonous,  if  not  chactic.  Government  and 
law  are  necessary  to  keep  him  reminded  of  his  right  to  the 
tree  of  life,  and  to  assure  him  of  the  perpetuity  of  his  felicity. 

But  I  do  not  speak  of  law  in  heaven  in  the  sense  of  a  pro- 
bation. It  will  not  address  itself  to  man's  fears  as  it  does 
now,  for  there  will  be  no  principle  of  fear  in  the  heavenly 
world.  The  government  there  will  ever  present  to  man  new 
and  increasing  sources  of  felicity,  stimulating  him  to  renewed 
developments  of  his  high  spiritual  powers  in  order  to  the  at- 
tainment of  them. 

Loose  and  incoherent  notions  of  the  heavenly  state  are  ex- 
tensively entertained  even  by  very  good  Christians,  and  when 
expressed  they  show  a  lamentable  deficiency  in  their  knowl- 
edge of  that  improvement  and  dignity,  both  in  tlie  moral 
and  intellectual  man,  which  religion  is  designed  to  produce 
even  in  the  present  life. 

The  idea  of  the  heavenly  state,  with  many,  goes  no  farther 
than  supposing  it  to  be  some  undcfinable  locality  somewhere 
in  the  skies,  where  God  will  be  seen,  where  near  and  dear 
friends,  the  former  partners  of  the  joys  and  the  sorrows  of  an 
earthly  existence,  will  meet  together  again,  never  more  to 
part,  and  where  a  tumultuous  kind  of  rejoicing  will  be  their 
unceasing  employment. 

The  scriptures  impress  upon  us,  in  a  variety  of  modes,  the 
purposes  of  man's  creation,  his  duty  and  his  destiny  ;  and 


316  TUE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

they  distinctly  teach  us  this  fact,  that  the  present  life  is  but 
the  infant  state  of  our  being  :  here  we  take  the  first  feeble 
steps  towards  the  dignity  and  glory  of  our  immortal  state. 

The  purposes  of  the  Christian  religion  are  but  poorly  un- 
derstood by  those  who  look  to  it  only  as  something  which  is 
to  produce  occasional  impulses  of  joy— something  to  make 
men  feel  happy  for  a  season,  while  they  remain  contented 
without  those  constant  developments  of  increasing  moral  ex- 
cellence and  vigorous  growth  of  virtuous  principles,  which 
are  the  proper  fruits  of  religion,  and  the  true  elements  of  the 
Christian's  happiness  in  this  life.  Opposed  to  the  transitory 
and  fitful  seasons  of  joy  which  distinguish  the  religious  expe- 
rience of  some,  and  which  the  scriptures  characterize  by  the 
evanescent  state  of  the  morning  cloud  and  early  dew,  we  have 
the  solemn  injunction  of  divine  inspiration,  commanding  us  to 
grow  in  grace  and  the  knowledge  of  our  Loi'd  and  Savior  Jesus 
Christ. 

What  is  growth  but  progression,  and  this  progression  will 
be  the  endless  development  of  man's  glorified  nature  in  heaven, 
and  from  the  continued  enlargement  and  active  employment 
of  his  moral  powers  all  his  happiness  there  will  arise. 

But  let  us  now  return  and  take  a  further  view  of  the  glori- 
ous city. 

If  we  take  the  word  foundations  to  signify  what  we  mean 
by  it  in  its  application  to  buildings,  we  shall  bury  all  the 
beauty  and  richness  of  the  great  wall  of  this  city  under 
ground  ;  but  this  was  not  the  intention  or  meaning  of  the 
projjhct  in  the  description  he  gives  of  it. 

The  wall  was  built  of  precious  stones  or  gems,  twelve  dif- 
ferent kinds,  corresponding  with  the  twelve  apostles,  so  dis- 
posed that  each  stratum  of  stone  was  a  foundation  for  an- 
other stratum  of  a  different  kind.  The  first  layer  or  stratum 
whi(;h  appeared  in  the  wall  was  the  jasper,  and  when  this  was 
laid  on  it  became  the  foundation  for  a  stratum  of  a  different 
stone,  which  was  the  sapphire  ;  upon  this  again  was  laid  the 
chalcedony,  and  the  fourth  belt  or  stratum  was  the  emerald, 


CHAPrKR  xxr.  317 

and  so  on  until  the  wall  was  conii)lcto(l,  Ix-inir  imilt  of  twelve 
different  strata  of  precious  stones,  each  dilleriu^^  from  the 
rest  in  color  and  quality,  and  each  stratum  or  l)elt  of  tlic 
width  of  twelve  cubits.  Tlien  tlie  gates  of  the  wall,— r//r/t 
several  gate  was  of  07ie  pearl, — mingling  their  soft,  transparent 
light  with  the  brilliant  richness  of  the  wall.  And  to  these 
we  must  add  the  palaces  of  gokl  which  composed  the  city  ; 
for  the  city  was  of  pure  gold  like  unto  glass  ;  and  its  street, 
wJiich  was  also  gold.  AVlien  the  light  which  shone  upon  tlic 
city,  and  its  walls  and  gates,  was  reflected  on  all  sides  like  a  sea 
of  endlessly  variegated  lire,  it  must  have  i)roduccd  a  scene  of 
gorgeous  magnificence  and  grandeur,  such  as  no  mortal  eye 
could  look  upon,  and  that  no  mortal  mind  can  adequately 
conceive  of. 

The  prophet  proceeds  with  his  description  of  the  city,  and 
says,  (verse  22):  And  I  saiv  no  temple  therein.  Tiiis  nnist  do 
away  with  all  idea  that  tliis  city  is  a  representation  of  the 
church  in  her  militant  state. 

The  religious  services  of  the  Jewish  temple,  as  well  as 
those  of  the  Christian  Church  or  temple,  were  designed  to  in- 
struct men  in  the  knowledge  of  God  and  his  law.  These 
temples  are  necessary  in  the  present  life,  in  man's  probation- 
ary state. 

But  in  the  heavenly  state,  where  man  will  dwell  with  God, 
and  l)ehold  with  open  face  the  glory  of  God,  there  will  be  no 
need  of  temples.  There  will  then  be  no  necessity  either  f' 
the  typical  moonlight  dispensation  of  the  Jews,  nor  the  su 
light  Christian  dispensation  ;  for  the  Lord  God  Almightii  and 
the  Lamb  are  the  temple  of  it,  and  shed  the  light  of  divine 
knowledge  upon  the  ever-expanding  powers  of  the  souls  of 
the  redeemed. 

Now,  for  the  first  time,  the  projjhet  speaks  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  city,  (verse  24.)  He  groups  them  all  together  in 
one  general  term,  and  says  :  And  the  nations  of  them  that  are 
saved  shall  walk  in  t he  Ugh t  of  it .  Those  nations  to  whom 
Christ  said,  when  he  gathered  all  the  nations  before  him  at 


318  TnE  ArOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

his  second  appearing,  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  enter  into 
the  hingdom  jpreparcd  for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world. 

Amongst  the  nations  of  the  earth  there  are  some  renowned 
for  the  majesty  and  grandeur  of  their  kingdoms.  But  what- 
ever is  great,  or  grand,  or  glorious,  in  the  kingdoms  of  the 
present  earth,  will  be  lost  and  forgotten  in  the  inconceivably 
greater  glory  and  majesty  of  the  government  of  that  city. 

Wc  have  no  reason  to  suppose  otherwise  than  that  the 
hosts  of  heaven  are  under  some  such  appointment  and  gov- 
ernment as  belongs  to  kingdoms  in  this  present  world.  "  Or- 
der is  heaven's  first  law,"  and  this  order  presupposes  govern- 
ment under  the  glory  of  God  and  the  Lamb,  which  lightens  the 
city,  imparts  knowledge  and  wisdom  to  its  spiritual  inhabit- 
ants. 

The  gates  of  the  city  are  not  shut  by  day,  [consequently 
they  are  ever  open,]  for  there  shall  be  710  night  there.  The 
constantly-open  gates  of  the  city  signify  the  peace  and  secu- 
rity which  ever  reign  there,  admitting  of  no  apprehension  or 
fear  of  disquietude  from  without. 

The  last  verse  of  the  twenty-first  chapter  states  what  shall 
not  enter  into  the  city  :  Nothing  that  defileth,  or  worketh 
abomination,  or  maketh  a  lie. 

An  evil  principle  can  only  be  known  by  its  practical  opera- 
tion; and  the  prophet,  in  sliowing  what  shall  be  excluded 
from  that  city,  instead  of  saying,  all  moral  defilement,  and 
abomination,  and  lying,  shall  be  excluded,  shows  that  the 
most  remote  principle  which  could  produce  such  evils  will 
never  exist  tliere. 

The  thoughts  of  the  heart,  instead  of  being  evil,  as  now, 
will  ever  remain  holy,  pure,  and  in  perfect  harmony  with  the 
divine  will. 


CHAPTER  XXIL 

The  description  of  the  city  is  continued  in  the  first  five 
verses  of  the  chapter. 

1.  And  he  showed  im  a  pure  river  of  waUr  of  life,  char  as 
crystal,  proceedhig  out  of  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb. 

2.  In  the  midst  of  the  street  of  it,  and  cui  either  side  of  the 
river,  was  tJiere  the  tree  of  life,  which  hare  twelve  manner  of 
fruits,  and  yielded  ker  fruit  every  month  :  awl  tJie  haves  (f  the 
tree  were  for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 

3.  And  there  shaU  he  no  more  curse:  but  the  throne  of  God 
and  of  the  Lamb  shall  be  in  it  ;  and  his  servants  shall  serve 
him : 

4.  And  they  shall  see  his  fa^  ;  aQid  his  name  shall  be  in  their 
foreheads. 

5.  And  there  shall  be  no  night  there  ;  and  they  need  no  can- 
dle, neither  light  of  the  sun  ;  for  tlie  Lord  God  givelh  them 
light :  and  they  shall  reign  forever  and  ever. 

Tliispart  of  the  prophet's  description  has  reference  to  wliat 
we  wouhl  call  the  pleasures  of  taste,  such  as  gratify  tlie  appe- 
tite, while  his  preceding  description  was  for  the  gratification 
of  the  eye. 

The  river  of  the  water  of  life,  rci)resented  as  flowing  througli 
the  street  of  the  city,  is  a  figure,  tlie  force  and  ])eauty  of 
which  can  be  appreciated  only  by  the  inhal)itants  of  those 
climes  where  water  is  difiicnlt  to  obtain,  and  wliere  the  earth 
is  always  parched  and  thirsty. 


320  THE  AFOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

The  river  implies  an  abundance  of  all  that  is  refreshing. 
Thy  peace  shall  flow  as  a  river,  is  one  of  David's  poetic  repre- 
sentations of  the  rich  blessings  enjoyed  by  the  church. 

The  picture  of  the  rich  abnndance  and  peace  of  that  glori- 
ous state  is  completed  by  the  river,  clear  as  crystal,  flowing 
through  the  street  of  the  city,  and  the  tree  of  life  shading  its 
entire  banks  on  either  side,  and  yielding  its  fruits  constantly 
and  in  great  variety — bearing  twelve  manner  of  fruits.  Twelve 
is  named  as  its  variety  ;  but  that  number,  as  it  comprehends 
the  whole  Jewish  Church  from  the  twelve  tribes,  and  the 
whole  Christian  Church  from  the  twelve  apostles,  signifies 
that  the  joys  and  pleasures  of  that  state  will  be  suited  to  the 
infinite  variety  of  mind  which  will  be  filled  with  its  happi- 
ness. 

The  next  peculiarity  of  this  tree  is  the  remarkable  sana- 
tive qualities  of  its  leaves.  And  the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for 
the  healing  of  the  nations. 

This  has  led  some  to  suppose  that  the  city  was  the  symbol 
of  the  church  in  her  present  state,  as  in  the  future  state  there 
will  be  no  disorders  to  be  healed. 

But  I  think  a  better  view,  and  one  more  consistent,  may 
be  taken  of  the  meaning  of  this  reference  to  the  extraordi- 
nary virtues  of  the  leaves  of  the  tree. 

The  prophet  says  the  Icai-es  of  the  tree  ^cere,  not  are,  for 
the  healing  of  the  nations,  as  if  the  tree  had  been  formerly 
known  only  as  a  /c^//-bearing  tree.  Is  not  the  tree  in  its  leaf- 
bearing  state  emblematic  of  Christianity  in  the  present  state 
of  the  world  ?  In  this  world  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian 
religion,  wherever  they  are  faithfully  preached  amongst  the 
nations,  exert  a  wonderful  influence  in  establishing  peace  and 
good-will  amongst  them.  Even  the  forms  of  Christianity, 
its  worship  and  its  morality,  are  but  its  leaves.  But  these 
liave  had  a  most  happy  effect  in  mitigating  the  cruelty  and 
the  injustice  which  oppressed  the  nations,  and  in  healing  the 
disorders  consequent  upon  sin  and  ignorance.  What  nation 
has  the  gospel  reached  that  has  not  been  healed  of  much  of 


CIIAPTKR  XXir.  321 

its  civil  and  moral  disorders  tliroimli  its  iiidiicncc  ?  In  tlio 
present  world  we  see  but  little  more  than  these  leaves  of  tiie 
tree  of  Christianity  ;  l)ut  in  the  next  world  its  delieious 
fruits,  its  u-lorious  results,  will  ai)i)ear.  There  we  shall  he- 
hold  and  forever  enjoy  its  fruition  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
of  life.  There  will  be  no  more  disorders  there  to  be  healed, 
for  there  shall  he  no  more  curse  in  that  world. 

But  Christ  settles  this  question  as  to  whether  this  eity,  and 
its  river,  and  its  tree  of  life,  are  intended  to  represent  the 
church  in  this  world,  when  he  says  to  his  servant  John,  in 
the  eleventh  chapter  and  seventh  verse  of  the  Revelation, 
To  him  that  orercometh  ivill  I  give  to  cat  of  the  tree  of  life, 
which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  faradise  of  God. 

In  the  fifth  verse  there  is  a  repetition  of  what  was  said  in 
the  twenty-third  verse  of  the  precedin^u;  ehai)ter,  to  the  efi'ect, 
that  the  glory  and  hai)i)iness  of  that  heavenly  city  will  not 
be  dependent  upon  any  instrumentality  or  secondary  causes, 
great  or  small  ;  neither  the  light  of  the  sun,  the  highest  or- 
der of  Christian  institutions  in  this  world,  nor  the  light  of  a 
candle,  the  feeblest  and  least  enlightened  systems  of  religion, 
will  be  known  or  needed  there,  for  the  Lord  God  givcth  them 
light.  They  will  draw  directly  from  the  fountain  of  infinite 
knowledge  those  supplies  which' will  ever  fill  and  enlarge  their 
capabilities  of  happiness  ;  and  they  shall  reign  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  this  light  forever  and  ever. 

This  completes  the  description  of  the  glorious  city.  And 
wlfflt  a  description  it  is  ! — what  a  picture  of  unspeakable 
beauty  and  grandeur  !  Everything  which  imagination  can 
suggest  or  the  heart  of  man  can  desire  to  perfect  his  bliss  is 
seen  in  this  city.  Riches,  beauty,  and  magnificence,  fill  the 
whole  range  of  his  vision  ;  and  whatever  can  be  conceived 
of,  calculated  to  afford  the  highest  enjoyment  to  the  taste,  is 
presented  in  the  waters  of  its  river  and  tlie  fruits  of  its  trees. 

Some  have  imagined  that  such  will  be  in  reality  the  habi- 
tation of  the  saints  in  their  future  state,  that  they  will  dwell, 
literally,  in  such  a  city  as  is  here  described.     Rut  it  is  obvi- 

voL.  II. — 14* 


322  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

ous  that  this  is  a  mere  representation  of  sensible  objects,  in- 
tended to  produce  a  moral  effect. 

In  our  ]n'esent  life  we  are  dependent  so  much  upon  our 
bodily  senses,  that  we  can  hardly  appreciate  spiritual  things 
unless  they  are  presented  to  us  through  or  by  sensible  ob- 
jects. This  was  the  manner  of  Christ's  teaching  while  he 
was  upon  earth.  He  employed  the  occupations  and  pursuits, 
and  the  objects  most  desirable  amongst  men,  to  illustrate  the 
doctrines  and  blessings  of  the  gospel. 

Pursuing  the  same  method,  his  holy  prophet  illustrates  the 
end,  the  consummation  of  Christianity  by  the  glories  of  this 
heavenly  city. 

It  is  but  right  and  altogether  reasonable  that  we  should 
judge  of  those  systems  devised  by  human  wisdom  by  their  re- 
sults. And  as  by  their  fruits  Christians  are  to  be  known 
amongst  men,  so  by  the  fruit  of  Christianity,  what  it  will  ulti- 
mately work  out,  should  it  be  judged. 

Does  Christianity  present  nothing  to  the  worldly  seekers 
of  pleasure  but  a  dull  and  joyless  system  of  sacrifice  and  self- 
denial  ?  Look  at  her  end  in  that  city  just  described.  Is 
there  any  delight  which  the  mind  of  man  can  enjoy  that  is 
not  provided  there  ? 

Here,  Christianity  is  often  seen  in  dark  and  trying  circum- 
stances. But  look  at  her  in  the  light  and  glory  which  give 
perpetual  day  and  joy  in  that  city.  Here  she  is  seen  in 
hunger  and  thirst.  But  behold  that  ever-flowing  river  of  the 
waters  of  life,  and  the  tree  of  life,  with  its  inexhaustible  ^o- 
ductions  of  fruit  !  She  is  seen  here  in  sickness  and  pain,  but 
there  sorrow  and  sighing  flee  away,  and  health  ever  blooms 
on  the  cheek  of  immortality,  and  death  never  enters  there. 
Here  she  is  seen  in  distress  and  poverty,  in  lonely  hovels,  in 
damp,  chilling  cellars,  or  crowded  and  feverish  garrets  ;  like 
her  Author,  not  having  a  place  of  her  own  where  to  repose 
her  aching  head.  But  look  at  her  in  that  city,  dwelling  in 
palaces  of  gold,  surrounded  by  walls  whose  masonry  is  of 


ClIAPTKU  XXI 1.  323 

brightest  gems,  and  its  gates  of  })earl,  and  the  street  of  th(3 
city  of  pure  gold,  transparent  as  ghiss. 

On  earth,  Christianity  is  proverbial  (or  her  want  of  worldly 
glory;  and  the  scorn  and  contempt  of  the  great,  and  the  ridi- 
cule of  the  ignorant,  are  more  connnonly  her  portion.  Ibit 
the  glory  and  honor  of  the  nations  and  the  crowns  of  eartidy 
royalty  are  laid  at  her  feet  in  that  city. 

These  are  the  contrasts  which  it  is  the  purpose  of  this  city 
of  grandeur  and  magnificence  to  jn-esent  to  the  earthly  state 
of  Christianity;  and  by  the  contrast  of  these  sensible  objects, 
we  are  taught  that  the  felicity  of  the  righteous  in  the  next 
world  will  surpass  all  the  happiness  which  earth  can  produce, 
as  far  as  the  magnificence  and  glory  of  this  city  surpass  the  frail 
and  perishing  structures  of  man's  pride  and  boast  in  this 
world. 

The  remaining  portion  of  the  chapter  is  not  descriptive, 
but  it  contains  matter  suggestive  of  duties  which  it  is  im- 
portant to  Christians  gravely  to  consider. 

6,  And  he  said  unto  me,  These  sayings  are  faithful  and  true  : 
and  the  Lord  God  of  the  holy  jprojphets  sent  his  angel  to  show 
unto  his  servants  the  things  which  must  shortly  be  done. 

I.  Behold,  I  come  quickly  :  blessed  is  he  that  keepelh  the  say- 
ings of  the  'pro'phecy  of  this  book. 

8.  And  I  John  saw  these  things,  and  heard  them.  And  when 
1  had  heard  and  seen,  I  fell  down  to  worship  before  the  feet  of 
the  angel  ichich  showed  me  these  things. 

9.  llien  saith  he  iinto  me.  See  thou  do  it  not  :  for  I  am  thy 
felloic-servant,  and  of  thy  brethren  the  prophets,  and  of  them 
which  keep  the  sayings  of  this  book  :  worshii'  God. 

10.  And  he  saith  unto  me.  Seal  not  the  sayings  of  the  prophecy 
of  this  book  ;  for  the  time  is  at  hand. 

II.  He  that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  unjust  still :  and  he  which 
isflthy,  let  him  be  filthy  still:  and  he  that  is  righteous,  Id  him 
be  righteous  still :  and  he  that  is  holy,  let  him  be  holy  still. 

12.  And,  behold,  I  come  quickly  ;  and  my  reward  is  with  me, 
to  give  every  man  according  as  his  work  shall  be. 


324  THE  AFOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

The  truth  of  all  that  the  prophet  has  seen  and  heard  was 
confirmed  to  him  by  the  angel,  who  said,  by  the  appointment 
of  the  Lord  God  of  the  holy  prophets,  I  am  sent  to  reveal  to 
you,  and  through  you  to  all  his  servants,  the  things  which 
must  shortly  be  done. 

Behold  I  come  quickly,  is  an  expression  of  frequent  recur- 
rence in  this  book,  and  implies  not  only  that  the  events  pre- 
dicted will  transpire  in  a  way  that  will  appear  like  a  sudden  oc- 
currence, but  it  means  also  that  these  things  will  certainly 
occur. 

Blessed  is  he  that  keepeth  the  sayings  of  the  prophecy  of  this 
look.  Some  men  have  very  little  patience  with  any  one  who 
speaks  of  the  Book  of  Revelation  as  a  book  to  be  read, 
and  they  deem  it  almost  presumptuous  to  think  of  compre- 
hending its  meaning.  But  a  blessing  is  here  pronounced  upon 
those  who  keep  the  sayings  of  this  book.  To  be  kept  they 
must  be  understood,  and  none  will  be  so  weak  as  to  pretend 
to  understand  them  without  reading  them. 

St.  John  affirms  the  truth  of  all  that  the  book  contains 
upon  the  evidence  of  his  own  senses.  I  John  saw  and  heard 
these  things.  And  he  gives  evidence  of  the  effect  they  had 
upon  him  when  he  heard  and  saw  them.  He  was  so  over- 
whelmed with  the  majesty  of  the  scene,  and  the  dignity  and 
glory  of  the  personage  who  pointed  them  out  to  him,  that  he 
concluded  the  interpreter  must  be  a  divine  being,  and  as 
such,  entitled  to  be  worshiped.  From  this  impression  made 
upon  the  mind  of  the  prophet,  we  can  form  some  idea,  very 
limited,  however,  of  the  glory  of  man's  appearance  and  the 
greatness  of  his  wisdom  in  his  future  state  of  happiness.  It 
was  such  in  the  case  of  this  angel,  that  even  St.  John  fell  at 
liis  feet  to  worship  him.  Yet  this  angel  had  been  a  dweller 
upon  this  earth.  See  thou  do  it  not:  for  lam  thy  fellow- 
servant,  and  of  thy  brethren  the  prophets,  and  of  them  which 
keep  the  sayings  of  this  book  :  worship  God. 

The  angel  instructed  him  not  to  seal — that  is,  not  to  con- 
ceal or  keep  secret  the  things  he  had  seen  and  heard,  but 


CHAPTER  XX rr.  325 

to  give  them  publicity,  for  the  time  is  at  hand.  A  practical 
illustration  of  these  things  was  about  to  commciu'c  in  the 
trials  and  sufferings  of  the  seven  Asiatic  Churches,  and  would 
continue  until  the  whole  drama  of  the  Apocaly})se  should  be 
wound  up,  in  the  full  fruition  of  Christianity,  in  this  glorious 
city,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem.  TJie  time  is  at  kaTid — the  short 
period  of  the  Christian  disj)ensation  oidy  intervening — when 
he  that  is  unjust  and  filthy  will  ever  remain  in  that  condition 
without  hope  or  means  of  recovery,  and  when  they  that  are 
righteous  and  holy  will  ever  remain  in  that  state,  without  the 
possibility  of  falling  from  their  state  of  moral  perfection. 

This  is  an  allusion  to  that  period  which  was  fre(iu('ntly 
spoken  of  by  our  Lord  and  the  apostles,  and  symbolically 
adverted  to  in  the  Book  of  Revelation,  when  the  close  of  the 
gospel  day  would  leave  those  who  had  rejected  its  counsels 
and  its  blessings  in  the  darkness  of  moral  night,  and  raise 
the  righteous  to  life  eternal.  No  change  in  the  moral  condi- 
tion of  either  can  ever  occur  after  that  period.  They  that 
are  holy  will  ever  remain  holy,  and  they  that  are  currupt  will 
ever  remain  in  the  consequences  of  their  moral  defdement. 

The  twelfth  verse  reiterates  the  warning  so  frequently 
given  :  And,  behold,  I  come  quickly  ;  and  my  reward  is  with 
me,  to  give  to  every  man  according  as  his  work  shall  be. 

13.  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end,  the 
first  and  the  last. 

14.  Blessed  are  they  that  do  his  commandments,  that  they  may 
have  right  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter  in  through  the  gates 
into  the  city. 

15.  For  without  are  dogs,  ami  sorcerers,  and  whoremongers, 
and  murderers,  and  idolaters,  and  whosoever  lovcth  and  maketh 
a  lie. 

16.  I  .Tesus  have  sent  mine  angel  to  testify  unto  you  these 
things  in  the  churches.  I  am  the  root  and  the  offspring  of 
David,  and  the  bright  and  morning  star. 

n.  And  the  Spirit  and  the  bride  say.  Come.     And  let  him 


326  THE  APOCALYrSE  UNVEILED. 

that  heareth  say,  Come.    And  let  him  that  is  athirst  come.    And 
whosoever  trill,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely. 

18.  For  I  testify  unto  every  man  that  heareth  the  words  of  the 
prophecy  of  this  book,  If  any  man  shall  add  unto  these  things, 

God  shall  add  unto  him  the  plagues  that  are  written  in  this 
book : 

19.  And  if  any  man  shall  take  away  from  the  words  of  the 
book  of  this  prophecy,  God  shall  take  awsay  his  part  out  of  the 
book  of  life,  and  out  of  the  holy  city,  and  from  the  things  which 
are  loritten  in  this  book. 

20.  He  which  testifieth  these  things  saith,  Surely  I  come 
quickly  :  Amen.     Even  so,  come,  Lord  Jesus. 

21.  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you  all. 
Amen. 

This  portion  of  the  chapter,  from  the  thirteenth  verse  to 
its  close,  may  be  considered,  generally,  in  the  light  of  a  pro- 
clamation by  Christ  himself,  confirming  the  truth  of  all  that 
had  been  stated  by  his  angel,  who  was  St,  John  himself,  the 
term  angel  signifying  those  means  or  individuals  employed  by 
God  to  instruct  his  church  and  warn  his  enemies. 

Christ  first  proclaims  his  own  eternity  in  the  same  words 
he  employed  when  he  first  appeared  to  St.  John,  (chap.  1, 
verse  8):  lam  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end, 
the  first  and  the  last.  Then  he  proclaims  the  two  states  in 
the  next  world,  the  one  within  the  city,  and  the  other  without 
it.  Blessed  are  they  that  do  his  commandments  ;  such  only  enter 
into  the  city,  while  the  vicious  of  every  grade  of  crime  are 
without  in  outer  darkness. 

All  doubt  of  the  divine  authenticity  of  the  Book  of  the 
Revelations  must  be  removed  by  the  next  announcement  of 
the  proclamation,  (verse  16):  I  Jesus  have  sent  mine  angel  to 
testify  unto  you  these  things  in  the  churches.  I  am  the  root  and 
the  oJJ'spring  of  David,  and  the  bright  and  morning  star. 

The  mysterious  union  of  the  Godhead  and  manhood  is  de- 
clared in  these  remarkable  words  :  I  am  the  root — the  power 
from  which  David  derived  his  being.      I  gave  him  his  exist- 


CHAPTER  XXII.  327 

ence,  and  yet  I  am  his  offsprino:.     My  Immnii   nature,  iny 
earthly  form  and  muld,  I  dcrivod  by  natural  descent  from  liiu). 

The  doctrine  of  this  mysterious  union  is  further  eonlirmed 
by  comi)aring  tlie  sixth  with  the  sixteenth  verse. 

In  the  former  it  is  said  :  And  the  Lord  God  of  the  holy 
prophets  sent  his  angel  to  show  unto  his  servants  the  things  uhic/i 
must  shortly  be  done. 

In  the  hitter  it  is  said:  I  Jesus  have  sent  mine  angel  to  testify 
unto  you  these  things  in  the  churches.  If  words  have  any  mean- 
ing at  all,  what  other  conclusion  can  a  rational  mind  come 
to,  but  that  the  same  power  or  person  is  referred  to  in  both 
verses  as  sending  the  angel  to  testify  these  things  to  his  ser- 
vants, or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  to  testify  these  things  in 
the  churches  ? 

Then  follows  the  freeness  and  the  fullness  of  the  gos})el  of 
the  grace  of  God,  expressed  in  the  universal  invitation  given 
to  all  to  participate  in  its  blessings.  And  the  Spirit  and  the 
bride  say,  Come.  And  let  him  that  heareth  say,  Come.  Who 
shall  come  ?  Him  that  is  athirst  ?  Nay.  Whosoever  will,  let 
him  take  of  the  water  of  life  freely.  Who  says  man  must  buy 
his  salvation  from  the  church — must  })ay  a  price,  an  admis- 
sion fee,  for  his  entrance  into  heaven  ?  Hear  the  next  part 
of  the  proclamation  :  For  I  testify  unto  every  man  that  hear- 
eth the  words  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book,  If  any  man  shall  add 
unto  these  things,  God  shall  add  unto  him  the  plagues  thvt  are 
written  in  this  book  :  And  if  any  man  sluill  take  away  from  the 
words  of  the  book  of  this  prophecy,  God  shall  take  away  his  part 
out  of  the  book  of  life,  and  out  of  the  holy  city,  and  from  the 
things  which  are  written  in  this  book. 

How  is  this  adding  to  or  taking  from  the  things  written  in 
the  book  done  ?  It  is  done  by  those  systems  of  faith  and 
doctrine,  set  up  by  men,  which  conflict  with  the  sayings  of  this 
book — teaching  for  Christian  doctrine  that  which  tiie  word 
of  God  does  not  sanction. 

Whoever  teaches  any  other  worship  than  that  declared  in 
this  book — worship  G'rr/— whether  it  be  the  worship  of  ungels, 


328  THE  APOCALYPSE  UNVEILED. 

or  saints,  or  images,  adds  to  the  things  written  in  this  book. 
Whoever  imposes  exactions  upon  men  as  the  price  of  salva- 
tion, in  any  form,  likewise  adds  to  the  things  written  in  this 
book,  and  gives  the  lie  to  God's  mercy.  Whoever  denies  the 
salvation  of  God  to  any  portion  of  mankind,  under  the  pre- 
text of  decrees  and  councils  from  all  eternity,  do  most  awfully 
take  from  the  sayings  of  this  book,  uttered  in  the  seventeenth 
verse  of  this  chapter  :  Whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the  water 
of  life  freely. 

Whoever  assumes  the  exclusive  right  to  administer  the 
gospel  ordinances,  under  their  peculiar  forms,  denying  to  all 
others  the  right  of  calling  men  to  the  water  of  life,  take  from 
the  things  written  in  this  book,  and  violate  Christ's  pro- 
clamation in  the  seventeenth  verse  :  The  spirit  and  the  bride 
say,  Come.     And  let  him  that  heareth  say,  Come. 

And  whoever  or  whatever  church  substitutes  the  mere 
forms  and  ceremonies  of  worship  for  that  devotion  in  which 
man  is  to  consecrate  his  heart,  soul,  and  mind,  to  God,  takes 
from  the  words  of  the  book,  and  forfeits  the  things  which  are 
written  in  this  hook  for  the  consolation  of  them  that  worship 
God  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 

Whoever  denies  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  teaches  that  he 
is  not  the  root  of  David,  nor  the  bright  and  morning  star — 
that  he  is  no  more  than  the  offspring  of  David — that  the 
spirit  and  light  of  the  gospel,  dispelling  the  darkness  of  the 
natural  mind,  do  not  proceed  from  him,  such  take  Irom  the 
words  written  in  this  book,  unhinge  the  whole  gospel  plan  of 
salvation,  and  do  away  with  the  only  available  sacrifice  for 
the  sin  of  the  world.  The  denunciation  against  all  such  is:  God 
shall  take  away  his  part  otit  of  the  book  of  life,  and  out  of  the 
holy  city,  and  from  the  things  which  are  written  in  this  book. 

The  proclamation  concludes  with  the  words  :  He  which  tes- 
tifieth  these  things  saith,  Surely  I  come  quickly.  To  which  the 
prophet  adds,  Aincri.     Even  so,  come,  Lord  Jesus. 

It  was  very  natural  that  such  an  ejaculation  should  have 
been  uttered  by  the  prophet  on  its  being  announced  to  him 


CTTAPTER  XXIT.  309 

that  the  time  would  quickly  come  whrn  all  (lioso  Rnl)liiiie 
scenes  he   had  wituos.sod  would  have  tlicir   spiritual  fullill 
ment. 

Rut  even  this  jjrayer  is  prophetic  :  it  is  a  fervent,  short, 
and  com}3rehensive  prophecy.  It  is  prophetic  of  what  will 
become,  ultimately,  the  sentiment  of  the  whole  chunh. 

In  the  present  day,  and  ever  since  the  introduction  of 
Christianity,  the  prayers  and  labors  of  the  church  have  been 
directed  to  the  conversion  of  sinners.  For  this  her  ministers 
have  labored  and  suffered,  and  her  members  have  prayed. 
Missionary  societies,  Bible  and  tract  societies,  have  been  ap- 
pohited,  and  the  church  has  thrown  herself  into  every  form 
of  toil  and  patient  labor  w  hich  afforded  any  hope  of  saving 
men.  The  one  great  sentiment  has  been,  and  yet  is,  to  press 
upon  men  the  salvation  of  God. 

But  this  is  to  have  an  end.  The  harvest  will  pass,  and 
the  summer  of  the  gospel  will  end. 

The  world  will  become  gospel-hardened,  and  the  wicked- 
ness of  men  will  wax  bolder  and  become  daring,  defying 
God,  and  scorning  the  counsel  of  good  men.  As  the  gosju-l 
day  declines,  'perilous  times  shall  come,  as  St.  Peter  says,  speak- 
ing of  those  times  of  abounding  wickedness,  when  men  will 
tram})le  down  all  moral  restraints,  and  the  civil  law  itself 
will  attempt  in  vain  to  curb  the  tumult  and  rage  of  ungodli- 
ness. When  the  signs  of  the  times  throughout  the  world 
will  give  no  hope  of  any  further  extension  of  the  gospel,  then 
those  labors  and  prayers,  with  all  the  means  which  Christian 
philanthropy  has  emi)loyed  to  save  men,  will  cease,  and  the 
heart  of  the  church  will  turn  itself  away  from  a  world  given 
up  to  crime  and  violence,  and  will  look  for  the  coming  of 
Christ  with  fervent  and  impatient  desire.  Then  will  this 
short  prayer  of  the  [a-ophet  l)reak  from  the  heart  of  the  whole 
church  throughout  the  world  :  "  Amkx.  Comk,  Lord 
"Jesus." 


ERRATA    OF    VOL.    H. 

Pa^e  12,  Ime  11,  for  ministers  read  ministry. 

u     OQ    uu  r^'t"^''  Christian  read  Christian  reli-ion. 
u     no'  "f /.'«%Aom  botlomjor  primitive  r<?ar/  punitive. 
u    ^n'  ;    ''"^^i!'^^"  ^>'>ttomjor  primitive  read  punitive. 
^^     40,  line    9,  for  an^el  rear/  anj^els. 
^j     '^^  3,/o/-  efforts  read  effects. 

^^'  ?^f 'lo/^i  ?,"/  «^t^e  Ottoman  Empire"  should  be  inserted  the  S(h, 
u     ro   /     '      ?'  ^^'*  '^"'^  ^2'^^  ^'^'■^'''«  ^fi^^  chapter. 
^      o2^  line  6,  for  traders  read  travelers. 

ii     5n'  1-^  ^^>l<^f/om  bottom Jor  declaration  read  declamation. 
^^     outline    1, /or  already  rmr/ clearly. 
u     '^i'    u     ^^•'f'^^  form  in  read  from. 
,.     "7^'    „     16,  for  effective  read  afflictive. 
II     80,    «     13,/or  fall  rm^  feel. 
'     87     "     21,  for  memories  read  memorial. 
^^    93,  last  line,  for  them  read  him. 

96,  line,  for  near  7-ead  now. 
;|     97,    II       1,  for  1S96  read  1806. 
u  1  ??'    ci     2^'/°^  communication  ?-ea^/  explanation. 
I'  io  '    it      '^'■^^'*  removeth  rm/f  removed. 
j^  139,  14,/or  delivered  read  deceived. 

^^  169,    '     30,  for  after  that  rcat/  alter  this  the 
^^  173,    '      18,/or  on  read  in. 

212,    "     29,/o;-  even  since  read  ever  since. 
.,  212,    II     30,  for  2-37  degrees  rm^  23^  degrees. 

251,  31,  for  resurrection  read  natural. 

^^  262,    II     10,  for  the  earth  read  that  earth. 
«  Qnl'    u      2'-^  ^Y^^  generation  read  the  regeneration, 
u  o         u         '-''""   'purling  read  howling. 

306,    '       5,/or  hi mselfreac?  him 

Note.— There  are  some  other  errors,  of  little  consequence,  which  wUl 
also  be  corrected  in  the  next  edition. 


